


bellis

by evanspotter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Divination, F/M, Seer, figure skating, muggle at hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-07-05 14:49:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 56,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15865830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evanspotter/pseuds/evanspotter
Summary: Rainbow Evans is a Muggle. So why can she see the future?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Hello everyone and welcome. This story is a little odd. When I was first writing this, I came up with an idea. You know how Petunia was always so jealous of Lily because she was a witch and their parents were always so proud of Lily. Well what if their third sister also had a thing that Petunia was always jealous of? I used to be an athlete myself, and I always wondered what could kids who played sports other than Quidditch at Hogwarts do? So, I’m just gonna say it – Rainbow, the main character of this story is a figure skater, I’m not a skater myself but I do happen to know a lot about it. I’m still not completely sure about that element of the story, so please let me know if you think it’s weird or if you think it doesn’t quite fit the story or if you really like it.

Rainbow Evans remembered the moment she was born. Moreso, she remembered the moment right before she was born. She had been scared, very scared, there had been a crushing weight on her lungs and the next thing she knew there was a bright light against a white background, accompanied by sounds of relief and the sense of not knowing where she was.

As soon as Rainbow Evans could form a coherent thought, she started feeling overcome by emotions. She wondered how she had ended up here, her surroundings felt so foreign despite being all she'd experienced in her short life. Bow was aware that her parents thought she was mature for her age, but she didn't have a lot to go on, since both her sisters were older than her, and there weren't that many other kids around the neighbourhood.

It had been a sunny March afternoon, Rainbow was sitting on the kitchen table next to her sister Lily colouring in pictures (though Bow couldn't quite believe how much Lily drew out of the lines), their parents were watching the news on their brand new television just a few feet away from them.

" _Empezaron a vibrar las lámparas primero, pero después de unos segundos también se empezaron a caer los platos, y fue entonces cuando se formaron las grietas en la pared, y derrepente la casa se nos estaba viniendo encima._ " T _he lights started shaking, then after a few seconds plates started falling over, and it was then when the cracks formed on the wall and all of a sudden our house was enveloping us._ A frantic, petrified voice spoke from the telly.

Bow's heart started racing, and her chest felt tight all of a sudden, she stopped colouring. She could feel the wet tears on her cheeks, she felt like she was going to explode.

"Can you turn it off? Please." Bow begged her parents in a choked voice.

Every head in the room turned towards her in concern.

Mrs Evans stood up immediately. "Bow, what's wrong?"

"I just, I can't listen to that. It hurts." Rainbow tried to control her tears.

Her father finally obliged. Her mum reached her and gently stroked her hair. "Oh honey."

"But Bow, how can you understand what they were saying? They were speaking Spanish." There was genuine confusion in her father's voice.

Rainbow frowned. "I don't know, I just, I could see it in my head so well and it felt just so – I felt it so much."

"Well, you have nothing to worry about, honey, we don't live in an earthquake prone zone." Her mother's soothing voice tried to reassure her.

And that's when it all clicked. It was all coming back to her now. Her eyes went wide. "No, but I did."

Bow could feel her mother going very still beside her, and her father's gaze fixed on her.

"W-what do you mean by that, honey?" Bow's mum asked with a hint of concern.

Bow fixed her sparkling green stare, which now carried a certain weight, on her mother. "Well that's how I died, on an earthquake."

Bow saw Lily, who had remained quiet so far, curl up further into her seat out of the corner of her eye. Mrs Evans took notice of this too. "Oh okay, Robert, why don't you take Lily into the other room?" Mrs Evans prompted her husband into action and immediately took Bow by the hand and helped her off her seat.

Mr Evans was back in flash and sat on the couch beside Bow and her mother, both parents staring at their daughter as if she were from a different planet.

Mrs Evans took a deep breath. "Alright, Rainbow I need you to be very honest with me right now, I need you to tell me what you mean by... that."

"Well I mean that I was in an earthquake just like the lady on the TV was saying, and a building fell on me, and I remember being in a lot of pain, and I think I died, cause then I woke up and you guys were there and I was a baby and you named me Rainbow." Bow tried to explain to the magnitude of her understanding.

Mr Evans sat back on the couch, his hands folded beneath his chin. "Okay honey, but maybe just don't mention it in front of your sisters."

Later that night, Rainbow sat trying to process all the information she had come across that day. Firstly she realised that she probably shouldn't have made that little rant to her parents earlier. Then she started to realise what was going on. She had been fucking reincarnated. She was no longer a seventeen-year-old Mexican-American high schooler, she was now a green eyed four-year-old fucking British kid. And for some reason, she seemed to have been reborn into the past, was that even possible???

The next thing Rainbow realised, was her name. Rainbow Evans, dumbass name, sure, but it wasn't her own name she was curious about. It was her sisters' names. Petunia and Lily Evans. Could it be? Nah, how could that be possible? Well, they were in the sixties, and the girls' physical descriptions did match. Maybe it was the universe giving her some sort of reward for not being such an awful person, and sticking her with a family that closely resembled the Harry Potter one. Maybe she should just keep an eye out in case Lily started showing signs of accidental magic, and befriended a neighbourhood boy named Snape.

* * *

 

In the following weeks after Bow's revelation, she started to notice a lot of little things. There were more than a few ways her new life resembled her old one. In the physical aspect, she had been disappointed when she realised that she was white, although she did thank the gods she didn't have blond hair. Her memory of what she used to look like was kind of foggy, but she remembered it was at least nothing like she did now. But funnily enough, one of her physical features had transitioned into her new form somehow, though she couldn't quite tell if it was a coincidence. In her old life, Bow had had a scar on her forehead from when she had hit her forehead in kindergarten, which she, ironically, had called her Harry Potter scar her whole life. And she believed it had now transitioned into a beauty mark right on the same spot her scar used to be. Given, it wasn't nearly as cool as having a lightning bolt scar, but she still liked it.

After a few experiments, she also found out that she could understand Spanish but could not actually speak it herself.

Bow tried to remember as much as she could about her old life. There were many things that were foggy. She remembered she had liked school, and she had a big family, she had played the piano and the guitar, and she was set to go to college to study journalism.

Bow didn't mention much more about her previous life to her parents. She liked her new life, though she missed her old one. She had asked her parents to enroll her in ice skating lessons, since that was one of the dreams she never achieved in her past life. She felt a little bad about leaving her sister alone at their swimming lessons, but her skating lessons were everything she had always hoped for and more.

But eventually Rainbow would start forgetting. It was pretty soon that she forgot her family were supposed to be fictional characters in her past life. The last time she would consciously remember it was when her sister Lily befriended a local boy named Severus. When Rainbow was thirteen she would also forget about having ever had a past life, and her family would never bring it up again. But it was also around that time that she discovered her psychic abilities. Rainbow was not a very superstitious person, so at first she had thought nothing about the scenarios she came up with about different people, but after they came true more than once, she realised that what was happening to her was real.

Rainbow was not a witch as her sister was, but sometimes she wondered if she had some magic in her. She didn't really believe in psychics, but she knew magic was real. It made sense for her visions to be an expression of her magic. But she had pretty much resigned herself to the fact that she would probably never find out.


	2. A Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are appreciated!

It was Lily's and I's first Christmas since mum and dad had died. Neither of us had felt like celebrating much, especially since Petunia refused to join us.

Although I had come to terms with my parents' deaths, it still felt pretty awful. It would've felt even worse if we were still living at home.

Lily's boyfriend, James had invited us to spend Christmas with his family, but I had politely declined, which made Lily do so as well, under different circumstances I would've felt pretty awful about keeping Lily with me, but I don't think I would've made it through the holiday if she was gone. So James spent a quiet Christmas with the both of us.

As expected, this Christmas was quite different from the past. I liked James, he had always seemed cool to me. Lily had asked me, from the first time I met him, if I had any psychic feelings about him, and frankly, I did. I knew he wanted to be a dark wizard catcher, and that he was a descendant of the Peverell brothers. But there was one thing I hadn't told Lily. The first time I saw her and James together I had also gotten the unshakable feeling that they were going to die. Not today and not tomorrow, but in little time. Of course, I had not told my sister, I could barely fathom thinking about it, let alone saying it out loud. But if there was one thing I knew for sure, it's that I had to stop it. I could feel my eyes brimming with tears at the thought of my sister dying anytime soon. Goddammit, why did I have to be so emotional. I shook my head and tried to think of something else.

"Bow?" Lily's red head poked into the living room giving me a warm smile. Oh no, that was her 'I did something and I really need you to stay calm' smile.

I eyed my sister suspiciously. "Yeah."

Lily walked into the room with a bit of skip in her step. James immediately straightened up and looked up at her from his spot on the couch. Lily sat down beside me with the same smile still on her face.

She grabbed my arm and turned to face me. "Okay, I need — ".

"Lillian, if you tell me to stay calm I will murder you." I cut her off, matter-of-fact.

"Okay, just - do you remember earlier this year when I expressed the idea to you that your psychic abilities could have something to do with magic?" Lily was practically bouncing up and down in her seat.

"I'm not psychic." I immediately defended myself. Though we both knew we were kidding no one.

Lily rolled her eyes slightly, her bouncing slowing down a bit. "Oh right,  _now_  you're not psychic."

"C'mon just tell me what you did." I insisted, already dreading whatever it may be.

"I spoke to James and I's old Divination professor, Professor Vablatsky." Oh I did not like where this was headed. "Just to ask her about the possibility of a Muggle Seer existing."

"But I thought y'all thought Divination was an 'inaccurate' branch of magic and 'pointless'." I snapped back at Lily.

I could feel Lily resisting the impulse to roll her eyes. "Yes, but I do believe actual Seers exist, though they're rare, and I certainly believe that you have some type of psychic abilities as you have proven it time and time again."

"Well I've never heard of a Muggle Seer, but that would certainly explain your... gift." James put in.

I crossed my arms. "Okay, Lillian, proceed."

"Well Professor Vablatsky seemed pretty interested in this Muggle Seer, and she knows I'm pretty skeptical about Divination in general, so she knows I'm legit about thinking you're a Seer." Lily paused to give me her please don't be mad smile. "Aaand when I say she was interested in you, I mean that she was very very freaking curious. And since she just so happens to be doing some research in America right now, ProfessorDumbledoreiscominghererightnowtotalktoyou."

I recoiled. "Wait, what? Professor Dumbledore, like the fucking Headmaster of your school?" Lily nodded. My eyes nearly bolged out of my head. "Lillian! What the fuck?"

I dropped my head in my hands. I'd been hoping this would never happen.

"Oh come on, what are you so worried about? He just wants to talk to you." Lily tried to comfort me.

I looked at my sister incredulously. "Bitch, you know what I'm worried about!" I fell back on the couch. James gave a little look of surprise at my potty mouth. "You know why I never wanted you to do - anything like this."

James leaned forward. "If I may ask, what is the reason?"

I gave him a look. Was he for real? I thought the answer was pretty obvious. "Because no one will believe me." I couldn't help my voice from going up. "Most wizards already think Divination is ridiculous, why would they believe a Muggle who claims they have The Sight?"

"Okay." Lily cut in quickly. "This was just a heads up anyway, because Dumbledore will be here any minute."

I squirmed in my seat. "Oh my god, Lily."

Lily put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "It'll be fine. Dumbledore's literally the nicest person ever."

"Yeah, Lily's right. He loves Muggles."

"James, shut up."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

* * *

So that's how I ended up sipping tea in my living room with my sister, her boyfriend and the most curious looking dude I had ever seen.

The tall, bearded man wearing sparkly purple robes, put down his tea cup and smiled gently. "So, Miss Evans, I assume your sister has informed you of the reason for my being here today."

"Uhh, yeah."

"Your sister believes that you have the Sight." I tried to discern whether he was skeptical about me or not but his soothing tone, tiny comforting smile and sparkling eyes gave nothing away.

"Uh yeah, well, listen." I tried to sink further into the couch. "Lily's explained to me more or less what a Seer is, and I don't really think I am one because of several reasons: one, I don't really spout these poetic prophecies, I just say what I see like a normal person, two, I have never used a crystal ball of tarot cards or whatever, and three, I don't only predict the future, I also - sort of, know things about the people I meet, personal things."

Professor Dumbledore's soft gaze still told me nothing. "What could you tell me about myself? For example, Miss Evans."

I squirmed in my seat. Oh shit. "Um, I really don't want to invade your privacy, professor."

Dumbledore's smile didn't falter. "Don't worry about it, Miss Evans, everything I do not wish for you to know, I know how to conceal." I still gave him a worried look. "Go ahead."

Fuck, okay. "Uuuh." Okay this man was not over his sister's death, did he really not mind me knowing about that? "Maybe I should just —"

"There's nothing to worry about, Miss Evans."

I looked down. "I'm sorry about Ariana." I scratched the back of my neck. I risked a peek at the professor's face. His smile had faltered for the first time, and he had a look of both sadness and shock in his eyes. But I couldn't help myself to keep going. I quickly stopped feeling bad for him and have him a hard look. "Oh I didn't know you were one of those. Kind of what I was afraid of about meeting a new wizard." I could tell Dumbledore was a little scared. "Hey, you've come up with some cool quotes. Oh fuck okay, and like one thing about your future. But I don't know if you want me to tell you."

Dumbledore quickly recovered from his shock. He gave me a deep look. "I promise you, Miss Evans, whatever you might have seen, I am not the same person I once was a long long time ago."

I chuckled humourlessly. "Yeah, noah fence but you are... aged. Man, you're like almost a hundred years old, you're pretty spry for your age. And damn, you're still working."

Lily elbowed me discreetly. "We're both so glad you found the time to come here, sir."

The professor looked pensive for a moment before addressing me again. "Professor Vablatsky and myself have a proposal for you, Miss Evans." I raised an eyebrow at him. "As we have been informed by your sister that you have finished your studies a year earlier, we would like for you to join us at Hogwarts for a couple months so you can help the professor with research on your case."

My eyes widened in surprise, and I could hear Lily and James's soft gasps beside me. "Wait, okay. When you say join you at Hogwarts... what do you mean exactly? You do remember I'm a Muggle, right?"

Oh I was burning with questions.

"Yes, I do recall, Miss Evans. If you wish to attend any classes, you are welcome to, but it would be beneficial if the students didn't find out you are a Muggle." Dumbledore explained.

Oof. That was a lot. "Can I think about it?"

"Of course. If we could get word by the end of the week, that would be perfect. Term starts on the eighth of January."

Lily, James and I stayed silent for a few seconds after Dumbledore disappeared through the chimney.

I broke the silence. "Did anyone else get a little bit of a gay vibe?"

Lily and James gave me weird looks.

It wasn't until after supper that we talked about it.

Don't get me wrong, I really wanted to go to Hogwarts, and to meet Professor Vablatsky, and it's not like I had any actual schoolwork left to do. But at the same time it felt very scary. My sister had told about the prejudices a lot of people had concerning Muggles and Muggleborns. So if people found out I was a Muggle... I had no idea how they would react.

These were the first thoughts I expressed to Lily and James when they asked for my thoughts on taking up the professor's offer.

"I totally understand your concern, babe, but honestly about half the classes they teach at Hogwarts a Muggle could easily take. And you only have to choose about three classes, you'll fly by them." Lily coarced. "And I know you have an interest in magic, especially divination."

I held in a smile and laid my head on my hand. "Yeah, I do. But I absolutely do not want to be a wizard. I like being a Muggle."

"I know, but come on." Lily gave me a little shove. "I know you'll love it, and you can leave whenever you want."

"Okay, but aside from the but I'm a Muggle reason, I have a competition in March, I can't take that big of a break."

For the first time, Lily looked a little concerned. "Umm... do you really really need your coach for practicing?"

I gave her a look. "Lillian, you know I don't."

"Well, you're literally going to a magic school, I'm sure Dumbledore can figure something out." A cheeky smile crawled into Lily's face, and I couldn't help but smile back.

Looks like little old me might be going to Hogwarts after all.

After an hour or so debating on which and how many subjects at Hogwarts I should take, it was decided that I would be taking Divination, History of Magic, Potions (with some coercing on my side), and Music as an extracurricular.

Lily sent word to Dumbledore and just like that I was officially the first Muggle ever that would be attending Hogwarts. Or actually I'm not so sure about that, I'd have to ask Lily.


	3. Hogwarts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to whoever gets both the sitcom references.

I stepped off the chimney with a few vigorous coughs, dragging my trunk behind me.

"Ah Miss Evans, right on time." Professor Dumbledore stood in his long lilac robes and hat, in the most peculiar place I had ever seen.

Dumbledore's office was a rustic looking place, with a ton of little trinkets I had no idea the use for scattered around, there was an odd looking big red bird perched on the windowsill, and the many portraits of different men that hung on the walls were pretty much all moving — which Lily had warned me about, but I still found incredibly bizarre —.

There was a tall woman standing beside Dumbledore, she seemed to be in her early forties, dressed in green robes that were nearly as ostentatious as Dumbledore's, she had light brown skin, a long nose and large kind eyes, her hair stuck out in various directions.

I dragged my trunk across the floor in an attempt to get closer to the two wizards, but it was proving to be harder than expected. "I'm sorry, I wanted to bring a suitcase but Lily told me wizards use trunks pretty much exclusively, which seems very impractical to me, honestly if I hadn't seen her dragging a trunk across King's Cross for seven years, I would absolutely believe she was pulling my leg, actually dragging this around now kind of makes me feel like she  _was_  pulling my leg."

"That's quite alright, Miss Evans, you can leave your trunk there, the elves will take care of it once you've been Sorted." Dumbledore interrupted my blubbering — thank god — . "This here is our Divination teacher, Professor Amara Vablatsky."

Oh. In all my excitement about coming to Hogwarts I'd almost forgotten the actual reason I was here. "Oh, hi, I'm Daisy."

Professor Vablatsky smiled warmly at me. "Yes, I've heard a lot about you, Miss Evans, I thought I should come greet the girl I brought to Hogwarts just so I could keep teaching while doing research for my book."

I smiled. I liked her.

"Pardon me, Miss Evans, but I seemed to be under the impression your given name was Rainbow." Dumbledore said good-naturedly.

"Oh, oh no. That's just what my family calls me, I'm sorry for the confusion. My name is Daisy." I quickly corrected. This was not the first time this happened.

"Well now that the proper introductions have been made, how about we jump right into the Sorting." Dumbledore suggested. "You may sit down if you wish, Miss Evans."

I sat down on one of the rustic embroidered mismatched chairs Dumbledore had pointed out. This was truly one of the gayest places I had ever seen.

Dumbledore recovered a dusty old hat from the depths of his office. As Dumbledore explained what was going to happen, I sat there thinking about how many heads that hat had touched. Hogwarts must have had at least a few lice outbreaks in its time.

Before I knew it the probably moldy old hat was sitting atop of my head. Oh well, that's - that's that, nothing I could do about it now.

_Ahhh a Muggle, haven't had one of those in a while._

_You've Sorted Muggles before?_

_Once a long time ago, did not go down well._

_But you can Sort me, right?_

_Why, yes of course. Mmm there's a lot of potential here, Gryffindor could be a good fit._

_Mph my sister would like that._

_Ah yes, the elder Evans, one of the easy ones, those are some boring Sortings, let me tell you._

I snickered _._

_Oof, definitely not Hufflepuff._

_Hey I resent that, I'm nice._

_There's some Ravenclaw potential there but I don't know. Oh okay, oh yes, of course, silly hat._

"SLYTHERIN."

I held my breath. Dumbledore froze. Professor Vablatsky froze. We all froze. I could see the worried looks on both the adults' faces.

They took the hat off my head. I'd even forgotten about the cooties.

"Very well then." Dumbledore smiled lightly, trying to pretend everything was fine.

A knock on the door interrupted our awkward silence. It was, I assumed, another professor, her slightly greying hair was pulled into a tight bun and her seemingly severe look behind her wire rimmed glasses made me shrink in my seat a little.

"Excuse me, Albus, Amara. Is Miss Evans ready?" Her Scottish accent also sounded severe.

"Yes, Minerva. Miss Evans, you may accompany Professor McGonagall to the Great Hall for the Feast. Professor Vablatsky and I will see you there." Dumbledore instructed.

Professor McGonagall waited at the door as Dumbledore pulled me aside. "Miss Evans, it is more important now than ever that no one finds out your identity, as a Muggle or as Lily's sister, remember, you are a half-blood, your mother is Elspeth Urquhart, and your last name is Edwards."

I gulped. "Yes, I remember." Dang, I thought Lily and her friends were a little biased and maybe exaggerated a little, but if the headmaster was that worried about me being in Slytherin, I guess Slytherin must really just be like that.

I followed Professor McGonagall out of the Headmaster's office, but not without overhearing Dumbledore and Vablatsky's conversation on the way out.

"She'll be fine, won't she? I mean there's Chopra."

"Yes, of course."

"Oh and Khoo, yes, Khoo."

"And Miss Greengrass, of course."

* * *

It was not until this very moment that I understood what Lily was talking about whenever she enthusiastically described Hogwarts. To put it simply, the halls of Hogwarts were magical. As redundant as that might sound when talking about a magic school, the castle just exuded magic. There was magic in every corner. Not only was it architecturally beautiful, but it was also architecturally magical, on every floor there was at least one moving/disappearing staircase, which was unsurprisingly difficult to get through.

The boisterous magical paintings on the walls were the most interesting things I had ever seen. I was absolutely sure that Professor McGonagall was at least a little bit done with having to slow down every few minutes when I stopped to look around, although when we finally stopped walking and I came face to face with her, I realised she had a bit of a prideful look in her eye.

My heart hammered into my chest as we approached the tall doors of the Great Hall, I longed to talk to my sister for comfort and advice. I sort of expected a grand entrance, with everyone looking at me as I bust the doors open, but as soon as I walked into the Hall I realised how stupid I was being. The bustling of the students barely let anyone pay attention to their surroundings. It was kind of overwhelming being around all of those people at once. I guess I had been around this many wizards before, but I had always been a visitor and I'd had Lily with me, now I was supposed to make myself at home, alone.

"Now, what House were you Sorted into, Miss Edwards?" McGonagall asked as I looked at the four long tables.

"Uh Slytherin."

McGonagall's expression was the same as both the professors' upstairs had been, except hers had an underlying tone of pity. "All right, the Slytherin table is the at the end, over there." She pointed out. "Have a nice dinner, Miss Edwards."

"You too, Professor."

McGonagall wandered of towards the staff table and I made a beeline for the Slytherin table. I immediately went for the emptiest looking spot on the table. I exhaled. I made this far, this was good.

I got some curious glances, but no one approached me, until two girls around my age came barreling towards where I was sitting and sat right in front of me.

"Hey," one of them said. "Are you the new girl?"

Okay, so these two were all business.

The girl who had spoken had mahogany brown skin, thick eyebrows and wide eyes. The girl next to her had porcelain white skin and watery green eyes, with well groomed long dark hair and an easy smile.

"Yeah." I answered simply.

"I'm Saf Chopra." The eyebrows girl stated.

"Bella Greengrass." The long haired one said.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Daisy Edwards." Ugh, I hated using that name so much.

Both girls perked up at my name.

"So you're not a pureblood?" Saf asked.

Oh god, I cannot believe this was happening so soon. "Um, I'm a half-blood."

Both Saf and Bella sighed with relief.

"Oh thank Merlin." Saf said. "Since about half of our House is made up of assholes, we wanted to see in which category you would fall. Us half-bloods don't usually suffer as much as Muggleborns, but if anyone gives you a hard time, just let us know, we'll deal with it."

I couldn't help but smile. Why the hell did my sister have no friends in Slytherin? These two seemed perfectly fine. "Thanks."

"I mean you did luck out a little bit, I think our year has the least worse assholes in Slytherin. Only four out of seven blood suprematists! Now four out of eight, that's pretty good." Saf stated enthusiastically.

I nodded worriedly.

"And I think we have the least in-your-face blood purists. Like yeah, we know pretty much all four are You-Know-Who supporters, but none of them are really the kind to go out chasing down Muggleborns trying to curse them, except maybe for Selwyn, but the rest just sort of avoid Muggleborns and make offhand comments about blood purity once in a while." Bella explained.

"They make some offhand comments about us half-bloods sometimes, but you just gotta brush it off." Saf said.

"Ugh, don't let her fool you, she's barely a half-blood, no one ever bothers her about it." Bella ratted out her friend.

Saf faked a shocked gasp. "I will have you know that my great-grandmother was a whole Muggle."

"And did you ever even meet the woman?"

"Well, no but - ."

Bella cut off her friend with a loud laugh.

Maybe Slytherin would be fine after all.

* * *

That same night, as I finally settled into my new dormitory along with Bella and Saf (and another girl named Kiernan who seemed to want nothing to do with the rest of us), I decided it was finally time to call Lily. I was afraid of what she would think about me being sorted into Slytherin, but the urge to talk to her made me decide to just do it. I couldn't do it in the dorm though.

When I say call, I don't actually mean on the phone, because apparently Muggle technology did not work at Hogwarts. So James had gotten Lily and I enchanted mirrors, where all I had to do was say Lily's name three times into the mirror and it'd establish a link through the mirrors. It was pretty cool, to be honest, like having a phone call but with live video on it.

After finding out curfew was in a half hour, I told my roommates I was going out for a little bit, Saf and Bella tried to get me to wait until the next day, since they were busy at the moment doing last minute homework, but I told them I wouldn't go too far and would be back in a moment.

So armed with my bag, I ventured out on my own. It didn't take me too long to find a broom closet I thought was close enough to the Slytherin dungeon so that I could find my way back.

I quickly locked myself in and turned on the one tiny light. I took out the mirror and took a deep breath. I guess we're doing this then.

"Lily, Lily, Lily." I said in one breath. If I said it slowly I felt like I was summoning a demon.

My sister's eager face appeared on the surface of the mirror, where my reflection had been a moment ago. "BOW OH MY GOD FINALLY. Wait are you on the Astronomy Tower? That does not look like it."

"I'm not on the Astronomy Tower, because first of all your instructions were very much unclear and well, there's something I need to tell you first. " I explained, trying to look away from Lily.

"Wait! You've got to tell me which House you were Sorted into first." Lily's excited voice filled the room.

I tried not to look too nervous. "Uhh, well, I was SortedintoSlytherin."

Lily's expression remained frozen on the mirror, then she blinked once, and her smile slowly started fading away. "Sorry, I thought you said you were Sorted into Slytherin."

I remained silent and gave her a meaningful look.

"Well, you owe me ten Galleons, Lils." I heard James's voice from outside the frame. He thought I'd get Sorted into Slytherin?

"YOU ARE COMING HOME RIGHT NOW!" Lily came out of her trance in a rage.

My eyes widened. Was she for real? "Lily - ."

"NO, it's not safe for you there, what if - ? What if - ?" Lily's face was set into a deep frown as she ranted.

"I mean I don't think it's that bad, I'm not evil and I'm here."

"It's not about that! I don't mind Slytherin as a House, I can see why the Hat would put you there, but there's so many blood purists there and if they found out there is a Muggle in Slytherin, I can't even imagine what they'd do to you." Lily's voice started to crack and my eyes brimmed with tears as soon as I heard it. I hated watching my sister cry.

"Well, no one's going to find out, and so far, two out of my three roommates seem pretty cool." I tried to reason with Lily.

"Who are they?" Lily was quick to ask.

"Their names are Saf something and Bella Greengrass, Grassgreen?"

"Oh, oh my god yes, I know them, I forgot they were in that year, they're alright." Lily did seem a little calmer.

"I'm pretty sure there's some decent people in that year, Lily, if I recall correctly." James's disembodied voice put in. "Oh shit, Sirius's brother's in that year, stay away from him, he's a dick, and I don't mean a Sirius kind of dick, I mean an actual blood purist dick."

Shit, how did Sirius end up with a blood supremacist brother? "Oh okay."

"Oh Avery junior is in that year too, stay away from him. Oh and Selwyn, do not go near Selwyn under any circumstances." Lily instructed, matter-of-fact.

"Alright, I'll only talk to Saf and Bella, they said they're introducing me to a guy named Jem tomorrow though." I said.

Lily's eyebrows raised. "Oh, oh my god, Jem! How could I forget? He's so lovely."

"See Lils? She'll be fine, no need to send a rescue party." James said.

"By the way, did James bet you I'd be in Slytherin?" I tried desperately to change the subject from me going home.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Ugh, yes, he did."

James appeared beside Lily. "Deep down, she knew you'd be in Slytherin too, she just refused to admit it."

"Well, a little forewarning would've been alright, Lillian."

"Shut up." Lily rolled her eyes again. "Anyway, don't forget to ask Dumbledore about your skating arrangements tomorrow, he said it should all work out."

"Yes, yes."

* * *

I woke up very early the next morning. Not only because I was unbelievably nervous about attending my first class at Hogwarts, but also because attending Hogwarts meant that I now had a very tight schedule. Work out in the early morning, attend classes, do homework during free periods between classes, skate in the afternoon and three days a week attend a special lesson with Professor Vablatsky.

So at five in the morning I was getting out of bed. I was a little embarrassed about having Dumbledore show me where I was going to be training at this early hour, and I let him know as soon as he came into view outside the Slytherin dungeon.

The professor just chuckled lightly. "That's quite alright, Miss Edwards."

The man led me to a door not too far from the dungeons, it looked pretty simple, Dumbledore unlocked it with a wave of his wand. He gestured for me to go in front of him.

I was not expecting what I found inside. It was a swimming pool, Hogwarts had a freaking hidden swimming pool.

The room itself was quite large, with a high roof. The pool was right at the centre, with some old bleachers beside it, there were also some gym apparatuses beside the bleachers, that looked oddly out of place.

I shook my head. "You have a hidden swimming pool?"

"Well this room has had different uses over the past. It was first created by a Care of Magical Creatures professor who specialised in water creatures, he wanted to create a controlled environment where he could study the behaviours of some minor creatures so he dug this up, and made an artificial lake." Dumbledore explained. "Years after the experiment ended, some students tried to reuse this space and make a swimming pool for everyone to use, but in the end it didn't work out so we were left with this. I had it filled up again for your use, and now it'll serve for you."

"Uhh okay."

"Oh, of course." The professor chuckled. He did some vigorous wand waving and the water in the pool froze. With another wave, the ice zambonied itself to perfection. Oh sweet Jesus, that was so beautiful. "Will that be sufficient for your practices, Miss Evans?"

I gaped at him. "Well, yeah. But usually ice rinks have some sort of ventilation system so the ice won't melt." Dumbledore waved his wand lightly. "Oh magic, right. I guess if it's not much of a bother, I'd be more comfortable with some sort of barrier around the ice."

"It's not bother at all, Miss Evans, I'll have it fixed up for your training session this afternoon."

"Thank you."

"I shall leave you to your training now, Miss Evans, good luck."

* * *

It was as I was about to enter the Potions classroom that I began to feel sick to my stomach. Being nervous about wizard school was enough, but my first class being Potions, which was not only the hardest class I took but one of the hardest overall, was just too much. At the very least, this was one of the very few classes I shared with Bella, as we had discovered I shared exactly zero classes with Saf.

Bella gave me a little push forward and I was finally inside the dark little Potions classroom. Seeing the seating arrangement in pairs made the uneasiness in my stomach grow.

I went up to the teacher first thing, I knew all my teachers had been informed of me being Muggle, and were meant to go easy on me, but it still made me nervous.

"Hello, Professor. I'm Daisy Edwards, I'm new." He knows you're new, dumbass.

The middle aged robust man looked me up and down before saying, "Ah yes, Miss Edwards, I was expecting you. It seems now you've joined our class, we finally have an even number, and Mr Black can finally stop working alone."

Wait, was this Mr Black Sirius's brother, whom I was specifically told not to talk to? Well, fuck.

Professor Slughorn pointed me in the direction where smaller Black was sitting towards the back. Bella looked at me apologetically as I passed, and I sent a small smile her way. At least she'd be sitting right in front of me.

The younger Black brother was almost as extraordinarily handsome as his brother, if you were into brooding boys that looked like they hadn't slept in weeks, which I must admit, is kind of my type. But knowing that he probably hated Muggles, made him kind of lose any appeal to me. I sat down and braced myself for whatever may come.

* * *

All in all, none of my lessons had gone as disastrous as I thought it would. Potions had been the hardest by far, but luckily enough I had managed t o get through the lesson without fucking up visibly enough to make a fool out of myself in front of everyone, so I considered that a win.

Although I hadn't spoken a single word to Black the whole lesson, I could tell he was annoyed not only at how blatantly bad I was at potions, but also at the sheer number of questions I asked (mostly to Bella). Everyone had been pretty surprised at how much Slughorn seemed to be willing to help me with my potion. I just hoped they all thought I was stupid.

History of Magic was pretty easy, you just had to listen. And I thought Divination would be the one subject I would actually be good at, since I'm supposedly a Seer, but apparently there's a bunch of theoretical shit that you had to learn. From textbooks.

I had pretty much just stuck to Saf and Bella all through the day. During breakfast the Head Boy and Girl had very nicely introduced themselves to me, and as it turned out the Head Girl, Tessa was good friends with Saf and Bella.

I'd met another one of Saf and Bella's friends during Potions, a tall girl with aristocratic features and dirty blonde hair named Natalliya, she was a Gryffindor so she didn't dare approach the Slytherin table at meals, in fear of being crucified by her House.

I was now sat at Professor Vablatsky's office for out first Seer sesh, which the witch had said would mostly be just us talking.

"So, Daisy." Professor Vablatsky put her tea cup down and seized me in with her large hazel eyes. "When did you say you got your first 'vision' as you call them?"

"I'm not entirely sure, when I first started getting them I didn't know it was the future, but before that, I always sort of got premonitions, I still do. A lot of the time about earthquakes for some reason, just around the world. Sometimes when someone around me was about to get hurt." I explained.

"Mm." Vablatsky stared into my soul. "Is there something you could say was a trigger for a vision?"

"Uh I don't think so. They're not always visions per se, sometimes I'll just wake up and I'll know things I didn't before. But sometimes when I meet a new person, they might trigger a vision about them, not always though."

Our little back and forth went on for while longer before the professor decided the was enough for the day.

* * *

It was now the end of the day. The end of my very first day as a Hogwarts student. I was happy. For the first time I felt like I could actually manage here. I'd even gotten so excited having the rink to myself that I'd stayed there way too late, though I had managed to get a permission slip from Dumbledore himself, after explaining how on the days I had to meet with Professor Vablatsky I might start practicing late and needed to stay a little longer at the rink, Dumbles had caved and now I was legally allowed to stay out until midnight on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

I was currently exercising my right for staying out past curfew as I walked back to the Slytherin common room.

"Edwards! What are you doing out here?" It was Black.

"I could ask you the same question." I fired back. Why'd he give a shit?

I could tell Black resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I'm a prefect, I'm patrolling for students out of bed."

"Oh." Shoot. "Well, not to worry, I have a permit." I quickly took the piece of paper out of my bag and handed it to Black.

Black skimmed it quickly and exhaled sharply. "This just says 'I can do what I want.'"

I could tell he was fed up with me. "Woops, wrong one."

I took the paper from Black's hand and dug through my bag again. I gave him the right permit in exchange. He examined it for a moment before handing it back to me and scoffing slighty. "Why on earth do you have that? It's literally your first day here."

"Well, unfortunately for you, that is none of your business." I walked past the boy, in the direction of the Slytherin common room.

And Black just could not resist calling after me. "What's in the bag?"

"Back off, bitch."


	4. Secrets

It was at the end of my first week at Hogwarts when my friends finally asked.

Saf, Bella and I were eating breakfast together as per usual, accompanied by Tessa on this particular day.

"By the way, Daisy, where have you been disappearing to during the evenings this week?" It was Bella who asked gingerly.

Oh I had been dreading this. Not because I didn't want the girls to know, I honestly did want them to know. But I had absolutely no idea how or what to tell them. I'd never really had to explain my skating to anyone before, my parents had made sure to keep every single member of our extended family updated on my skating, and I'd known most of my friends back home since I was a kid. So I had no doubt in my mind this exchange would be incredibly awkward.

"Um I –, I have – " I stuttered out.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want, we're just curious." Saf assured me.

"No, it's not that," I quickly assured her. "It's just weird." Ugh just spit it out, you dumb bitch. "I'm an athlete, I've been training."

"Oh, you mean like Quidditch?" Saf asked.

"No, no. I grew up around Muggles, so it's a Muggle sport."

All three girls looked at me expectantly.

"Well, what is it then?" Bella asked.

I avoided their eyes. "Uh figure skating."

"Huh, that's like ice skating, right?" Saf asked.

I nodded. "Actually, part of the reason why I never came to Hogwarts was because I didn't want to give up skating, but now Dumbledore provided me with a space to train so." Okay I did not enjoy lying to my friends but when the story came out this perfect, I couldn't help it.

"How long have you been skating?" Bella asked.

"Um almost fourteen years."

Tessa raised her brows. "Wow. That is so... cool."

The other girls nodded along enthusiastically. I smiled.

"So you must be crazy good, then." Saf said.

"I'm alright."

"Well you gotta show us sometime." Tessa said excitedly.

"Oh my god, we can all go skate on the lake one of these days, I fancy myself a pretty good skater, but I'm absolutely sure you'd kick my ass." Saf said.

I laughed.

* * *

After a particularly disastrous Potions class, where my cauldron had ended up in a minor explosion, and Black had ended up fuming at my antics, I was most certainly sure I was in trouble when Professor Slughorn asked me to stay behind after class.

"Miss Edwards, are you familiar with the game of Quidditch?" Slughorn asked straight away.

Wait, what? What did that have to do with anything?

"Uh yes, more or less." I'd known the few things Lily had told me, but James had been quite set on me knowing everything about it before I came to Hogwarts, knowledge which had not proven productive so far.

"Well, you see, we've been struggling to find a proper permanent Quidditch commentator this year, and I figured since you're an athlete yourself, you must know a thing or two about sports commentation, and well, I've noticed your classmates seem to find you funny." He looked like it physically pained him to say that last part. "So, I thought you might be interested."

I had a quick debate in my head. On one hand, I was supposed to be lying low, and although I was an athlete, I knew absolutely nothing about sports commentation. But on the other hand, it was a high school game, I doubted they needed stellar commentating, and I, as the most opinionated person I knew, was giddy about the idea of the whole school having to hear my opinions and not being able to do anything about it. "Sure, I'll do it."

"Very well then, I will let you know when we can do a trial run. Due to past incidents, all commentators must be approved by the Deputy Headmistress first."

"Okay."

* * *

On Sunday Saf got her wish of all five of us skating together.

"Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod, I'm going to die. Daisy, don't let go of me." Nat crushed my fingers, her legs stiff in her skates, trying to plant herself in the ice.

It was an odd experience for me seeing her like this. Usually Natalliya was poised and her presence imposing, I'd never seen her so much as trip, but right now she couldn't do as much as skate one centimetre forward without falling. It humanised her.

"I'm not gonna let go, Nat. But you need to relax a little or you're going to bring us both down." I said coolly.

The rest of the girls were proficient enough skaters to enjoy themselves, the only one apart from Nat who had never skated before was Tessa, but she had taken to it way quicker and easier than Nat.

"Nat, let go of Daisy, we want to see her skate properly!" Tessa shouted over at Nat.

Saf came up from behind Nat and I. "Come on, Nat, let Daisy skate for a little bit." Saf offered her hand.

Nat seemed upset. "But Dais is the professional one, I trust her way more than any of you bitches."

Saf rolled her eyes. "Stop whining, come on."

Nat was then taken away by Saf. And I was left alone. I skated towards the rest of the girls.

"Come on, Dais, we want to see you do the cool stuff." Tessa encouraged.

I laughed. "I don't want to run you guys over though."

"We'll stay out of your way, promise."

I sighed. This was happening then. I skated away from the girls, picking up the pace slowly. I did a few spins for their amusement, but when I heard their loud cheers I figured I could do at least a few jumps.

Not gonna lie, landing a good jump perfectly and hearing your friends freaking out in supporting cheers at the same time was pretty exhilarating. I couldn't help the wide grin on my face as I skated back towards the girls, who were still in a cheering frenzy. I was bombarded with 'that was so cool's and 'you were amazing's.

The one who seemed the most in shock was Nat. Bella tried to hold her back from giving me a hug, but Nat could not be stopped, and yep, we all went down. All five of us. There were a few grunts of pain but it quickly turned into a laughing fest.

Nat was the only one still gaping at me. "But -, I - I just don't understand. How does one just - do that?" Nat gestured with her hands.

I shrugged. "Practice."

"Come on, Nat, just accept that we have the coolest friend ever." Tessa gave Nat a little shove.

We got off the ice pretty quickly, as it was pretty cold.

As we took off our skates, Saf turned to me and said, "Daisy Edwards, you are officially the coolest person I have ever befriended."

I smiled and looked down. It seemed like now was as good time as any. "You guys can call me Rainbow, by the way. It's what my family and friends call me."

The girls all turned to look at me.

"Okay." Saf agreed. "Can I ask where it comes from?"

"Uh when my mum was pregnant with me she and my dad decided to name me Iris and my older sister, who was three at the time, asked them what it meant and they told her Iris was the goddess of the rainbow, so my sister got fixated on Rainbow being a better name than Iris, but my parents thought Rainbow was a bit too hippie. But when I was born, for some reason my mum ended up naming me Daisy, but my sister insisted on calling me Rainbow only, saying that it fit me better, and well my whole family sort of gave in and ended up calling me Rainbow. I actually didn't know my name was Daisy until I was like six." I explained.

Saf smiled. "I like it."

* * *

Regulus Black hated my guts. I knew it pretty much since the very first Potions class when I first sat next to him. I wasn't sure if it was because of my blood status, my personality, or my incompetence in Potions, but I had a growing suspicion it was a combination of all three. Luckily for me, we hadn't had any pairs assignments yet. Until today.

So far, my interactions with Regulus had been limited to almost zero, we pretty much ignored each other, but I knew he was one of the most skilled students in the class, which made me unbelievably nervous about working with him.

"Listen, I know that you are unbelievably terrible at potions, so how about you let me handle this, and you just sit there and hand me ingredients when I ask." Regulus wasted no time in giving me his condescending monologue.

"Okay, I realise that I suck at this, but I came here to learn, so I would appreciate it if we could view this as a team effort." I could tell Regulus wanted to curse me.

Regulus didn't reply. He only scoffed at me and started grabbing ingredients in silence.

I analysed the book page for the potion we were making, seeing if any of Lily's annotations could help me seem like I knew what I was doing. I stopped Regulus just as he was about to attempt cutting the manticore root in half. "I think if you crush it instead of cutting it, you can get way more juice."

Regulus's eyes narrowed. "You've literally blown up more than half the potions you've made this semester."

Well, he had a point. "I know, but logically, if you crush the root instead of cutting it, it's far easier. But okay, you don't have to do it if you don't want to, I was just saying."

With a roll of his dark eyes, he sighed and did as I suggested. And it worked! I let out a tiny smile.

"Oh my god, Bow, can you help me?" A freaked out Nat turned to me from her seat right in front of Regulus and I. Bella was nowhere to be found. Regulus frowned at the nickname. "I literally just lost my wand and Bella's in the loo, and we need to charm our potion right now or it's going to be ruined. Can you please, please help me?" Nat spoke a mile a minute.

My heart started racing so bad I felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. I knew this would happen eventually, I would be put on the spot to perform magic and everyone would find out my secret. Well I lasted almost two weeks.

I took out my wand and pointed it at Nat's and Bella's cauldron. I knew Regulus could tell I was flustered as he stared at me with a hint of curiosity. I stared at the girls' cauldron as if that would make my non-existent magic work. So this was it then. Well, it was good while it lasted.

Suddenly, the dark liquid inside the copper cauldron started bubbling and turned a soft lilac colour. What the actual fuck. I looked at Regulus out of the corner of my eye. His wand was out beneath the table.  _Had he?_

"Oh thank you so much, Bow. You saved our arses. I owe you one." Nat sighed with relief.

Why had Regulus done that? I was afraid to look at him, in case he had any questions as to why I hadn't been able to perform a simple piece of magic. I hoped he just thought I was that stupid.

Regulus and I didn't speak for the rest of the class, and as soon as Slughorn dismissed us, I bolted out of the classroom.

* * *

By the time dinner came around my mind was still on one Regulus Black. Would he figure out I was a Muggle? If he did, what would be do? Would he curse me? Would he try to kill me?

But most importantly, would he figure it out? I knew he was smart, he was quite good at both the classes I shared with him, but although being a Muggle was technically an explanation for me not doing the spell, I doubted that would be the first conclusion a wizard would jump to. Right?

I mean, he had no other reason to believe I didn't have magic. After all, I was an official Hogwarts student, and I owned a wand, and not a single Muggle has attended Hogwarts in over a thousand years. So out of all the logical explanations Regulus could come up with, me being a Muggle would be pretty far down the list. Yes, yes, of course it would.

Actually now that I think about it, I doubted he would ponder on my little Potions incident enough to come to the outlandish conclusion that I was a Muggle. I bet he barely cared about it. He would probably even forget about it in a few days. Huh. Yes, I've probably been worried over absolutely nothing.

" — we should do for the assignment, Bow? Bow? Rainbow?"

Bella's voice brought me out of my trance. What was she talking about again?

"I'm sorry. What were we talking about?" I asked my friends.

Bella gave me a funny look as she took a bite out of her chicken. "The Music class assignment."

"Oh, right! I have a little something I think we can work with. I'll show you later in the dorm."

Bella smiled. "Great!"

"What were you thinking about just now?" Saf brought up.

I looked down to my almost untouched plate. "Nothing, just uh, what do you guys know about Regulus Black?"

The girls shared a look.

"Oh I didn't know you — I guess he's kind of cute." Saf said straight up.

My eyes widened. "Oh no, it's not like that — "

"No, I get it, he's handsome, though not as much as his brother, I just didn't think you'd go for a blood purist."

"No, I don't fancy him. I just want to know, is he really," I lowered my voice, "a Death Eater?"

Saf and Bella shared a look again.

After a brief moment of thought Bella spoke up. "Um I actually don't really know. He's not very vocal about his views. I guess most people just assume because he's a Black and a Slytherin and he is friends with actual blood purists that he is one too. But I guess he's never really done anything to confirm it."

Huh.

"Honestly, I feel like the fact that he associates with and condones the actions of the confirmed You-Know-Who supporters is pretty damning in itself. So I prefer to stay away from him." Saf explained.

She had a point.

Bella looked at me curiously. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh it's just something he did during Potions. It wasn't anything bad, but it just got me thinking." I told them the truth for once.

"Well, what I  _can_  tell you is that it's not worth it going down that road. Boy has issues." Saf shared her last thoughts on the matter.

* * *

On this day I was proud to say that I had gotten my very first detention.

I knew what I tried to do was kind of stupid and there was a 76% chance that I would get caught, but after getting away with it the first time, I had definitely pushed my luck way too much. To be honest, I did think two weeks' detention was a bit much, especially with Filch.

So my sister was now scolding me through our magic mirrors. Her freckled face all scrunched up.

"Lily! Come on, it's not that deep. Everyone's gotten caught out after curfew, it happens to the best of us!" I tried to cool my sister down.

"Oh but you did not just get caught out after curfew. You also tried to fool Filch into thinking you were allowed to be out."

I tried to hold back a tiny grin to not make Lily angrier.

Half of James's face suddenly pushed against Lily's in the frame. "Bow, I just wanna say that I am so proud of you. I have taught you well, young one."

Lily pushed James out of the frame. "Don't encourage her!"

"I would just like to say that it's not my fault that Filch got confused with the days of the week." I tried to defend myself a little.

"Oh but he didn't 'get confused', you tricked him into thinking it was actually a different day." She had a point.

"Sirius is gonna freak when I tell him. That was so good, Bow." James said in-between laughs.

I ignored him. "Well what was I supposed to do when he caught me? Just let him punish me?"

"You shouldn't have been out in the first place, Rainbow!" Oooh she called me Rainbow, that meant business.

I shrugged. "You know I need my midnight snacks sometimes, and since James told me how to get into the kitchens, I just figured."

Lily's mouth opened in shock and disbelief. I could see her glaring at a spot above the frame, probably her boyfriend. "Well, just get something before curfew and eat it when you get hungry next time."

"Okay, but if I want something more substantial? I can't just take a bowl of soup up to my room."

Lily exhaled sharply. "Just don't go out after curfew again. You're lucky Dumbledore's still going to let you train late three days a week."

* * *

I was out past curfew again.

It was one of my allotted days, but midnight was quickly approaching. Professor Vablatsky had kept me late today. She seemed peeved at my limited ability to channel my inner eye through Seer mediums, but she still said she believed I was a Seer, just not a regular one.

On this particular day I had failed spectacularly at tarot cards. I was somehow supposed to tell Vablatsky her future by randomly shuffling a few cards and letting my inner eye pick. But my inner eye had taken a vacation at this particular time. I could tell Vablatsky was a little disappointed, but she assured me all Seers were different, and channeled their abilities differently. So next time we would be trying crystal balls, which I honestly found the most comical of all Seer paraphernalia.

"Hey!" A voice called after me on the somber corridor. I stopped in my tracks. "Oh, it's you."

It was Regulus Black. I hadn't talked to him since my little incident at Potions a few days ago.

"It  _is_  me. Do you need to see my permit again?"

"No." He gave me a curious look.  _Please don't ask me about the Potions thing, please don't ask me about the Potions thing._  He looked me up and down. "Are you ever going to tell me what you need to stay out past curfew for?"

Thank god. A barely there smile etched onto my face. "Nope."


	5. Quidditch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you get all the references, I love you.
> 
> Also Evgenia/Yevgenia/Zhenya are different versions of the same name. Since it's in Russian, all three are valid translations.

It was finally the day. I was commentating my very first Quidditch match.

I'd come to the conclusion that this was good practice for when I retired and inevitably ended up commenting on a few competitions.

Lily had taken some convincing into thinking this was a good idea, but ultimately James convinced her there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

Saf had actually invited me to meet the Slytherin team a few days before the match. She and Regulus were the only people in the team I knew, so I had accepted. Most of the people on the team were pretty nice, the best player by far (apart from Saf of course) was a nice Russian Fifth Year girl called Evgenia, who had come to Hogwarts last year. I'd also related to her because of the whole coming to Hogwarts late thing, and she was also the nicest person ever.

The worst player was Vanderbilt, who was an arsehole, that somehow thought he was the best Quiddditch player on earth, and I didn't hate him  _just_  because he'd sneered at me and called me a filthy half-breed when I first met him, but it did have a lot to do with it.

But I liked the whole team in general.

Since Slytherin was playing, I was decked out in my Slytherin garb as I made my way to the commentator's booth. My friends who were not playing Quidditch tried to sit as close to the booth as they could.

I actually felt relaxed as I stared out into the stands filled with loud students and turned on the mic.

" _It's Saturday, my dudes! And you know what that meansss!_ " I spoke into the mic, way more confidently than expected. My voice rung out through the pitch. The crowd cheered. My heart swelled. " _It's time for some Quidditch!_ "

The roaring crowd became even louder. Right then, Coach Farizan gave the signal that the teams were ready to come out. " _First from the Ravenclaw Team we have Seeker Grace Richardson!"_ Grace was a tiny blonde third year. " _Next we have Keeper William Kroes!_ " Aw that was the little brother of a girl in my Divination class. " _And now for the Chasers, the C squad, Carrie Roberts, Celine Carter and Ciaran Miller! Next up Beater, Armie Saavedra!_ " Armie came out in a triumphant glow, waving confidently as the crowd cheered. I decided to mess with him a little. " _Ooh look at that man! I mean I'm not a slut but who knows?_ " The girls in the audience yelled even harder. " _And now let's hear it for the Captain and Beater, Ian Fuller!_ "

As the Ravenclaw team flew down to stand on the field, the crowed quieted down.

I took a deep breath. " _Slytherins, let me hear y'all make some noise!_ " I knew I was in the right house when I heard the Slytherins being just as loud as the Ravenclaw supporters, which were pretty much the other three fourths of the school, just out of spite. " _First off, we have our incredibly talented Beaters, Helena Burke and Dorian Avery! Now the Big Three, our Chasers, Arthur Cho, the incomparable and beautiful Yevgenia Belyavskiy! And Cian Vanderbilt. Now for the brilliant Keeper, beautiful tropical fish, Safiya Chopra! And the Captain, Seeker Regulus Black._ "

After a few instructions from Coach Farizan, the game kicked off. " _Alright, and Slytherin is in possession. Ooh look at Zhenya go! Yes! Show them, baby! Oh what the f - ? What the heck? Fuller, how dare you throw a bludger at Zhenya?_ "

Someone yelled at me from the stands. "That's how the game works, idiot!"

" _I know that's how the game works, it's called humour, look it up, doofus!_ " I yelled back.

" _Anyway, Ravenclaw has the quaffle now. And Roberts is headed right for the Slytherin goal posts and Roberts shoots and – oh! Did you see that save from Chopra?! That was fucking genius! Ugh her mind... it's so powerful, it amazes me sometimes. That was called a Magpie save, kids._ "

"Edwards! Language!" I heard McGonagall's voice somewhere behind me, but honestly at this point I was so into the game, I didn't even care anymore.

" _Okay and Slytherin has the quaffle, oh and Vanderbilt's messed up, but Belyavskiy is right there to save his ass, and she shoots off and she shoots, and Belyavskiy scores! That's 10 - 0 in favour of Slytherin!_ "

Evgenia ended up scoring another three goals in a row, with some help from Arthur. In one of the rare times Ravenclaw had ended up in possession of the quaffle, one of their Beaters had thrown a bludger quite aggressively towards Saf, who was caught off guard. My heart nearly stopped as Saf fell off her broom, holding up only from the tip, she struggled for a few seconds before managing to hoist herself back onto her broom right in time to block a goal from Ravenclaw.

" _That's right folks! That was a hearty attempt from Fuller but Safiya Chopra said I'm a bad bitch you can't kill me! Not today Satan! That is A Keeper!_ "

"Edwards!"

" _Yeah, yeah, Professor. And Vanderbilt has dropped the quaffle yet again, can someone please tell me who lied to him several times and told him he was a good Chaser. Luckily we've got Belyavskiy and Cho to save the day, and Cho scores!_ "

The score was now a 100 to 10 and some of the Ravenclaw team was feeling pretty desperate. That's when I saw one of the Ravenclaw Chasers aggressively slam the mast of his broom against Evgenia's, almost knocking her off her broom. Who did that little shit think he was?

" _What the hell?! Miller just freaking blurted Belyavskiy! If you want to score a goal you should try being a good Chaser, Miller, not foul other people, I heard that works!_ "

Luckily Evgenia was granted a penalty, and our score currently sat at 130, while Ravenclaw was still at 10, it would probably be even higher if Vanderbilt hadn't been completely useless the whole match.

I swear I had nothing against Vanderbilt, he was just fucking up a lot. And I also hated him. I sighed as he failed another play. " _When I die, I want Slytherin Chaser Cian Vanderbilt to lower me into my grave, so he can let me down one last time._ "

All of a sudden there were two high speed blurs zooming through the pitch.

" _Oh it seems like both teams' Seekers have spotted the Snitch. And Grace Richardson has caught the Snitch! Ravenclaw wins!_ " What the fuck. Ugh I hate Quidditch.

Most of the crowd went wild.

" _Alright, I just want to say that the Slytherin team played amazingly today and I am so proud of them, what a great team!_ "

"Slytherin lost!" Someone rudely reminded me from the stands.

" _And what about it? You fu —_ "

McGonagall then unplugged my mic.

* * *

"Oh my god! Rainbow that was absolutely the best Quidditch commentary we've ever had!" Natalliya looped her arm through mine enthusiastically as we walked down to the lakeshore.

The match had ended about a half hour ago, and after a stern scolding from McGonagall for having sworn more than a few times during the match, I was finally free to go have a chill Saturday with my friends, who had decided, they wanted to go to the lake despite the cold.

I smiled coyly. "Wow. Thanks."

"Yeah, you come up with the most curious stuff." Tessa said.

"Oh I just watch way too much telly."

"Well, I don't really know what that is. But you were definitely saying everything that was going through my head." Bella said.

Oh that's right. Wizards don't have TV. Tragic.

* * *

On Monday I had to serve my first detention.

I had no idea what to expect with Filch. Lily had told me he hated most students, and the only reason why he didn't impart physical punishments was because Dumbledore wouldn't let him. So it's safe to say that I was starting to regret having broken the rules in the first place. Which, I guess, meant that the detention was working.

What I had not been expecting at all though, was for Regulus Black to walk through the door of Filch's office and for Filch to announce that we were to serve detention together.

My first thought had been, what had he done to get detention? My second thought was, I do not want to spend the next three hours confined in an enclosed space with Regulus Black.

I knew for a fact that Nat had also gotten detention this week for releasing dungbombs on the Slytherin Quidditch team while they practiced, and I knew for sure this detention would be a thousand times less worse if I did it with Nat... Which is probably why I wasn't serving it with her.

The tense silence between Regulus and I could be felt as soon as Filch aggressively shut and locked the door to his office.

Okay, I could get through this. We only had to organise and sort every single one of Filch's files. Why a janitor had so many files was beyond me. But I could survive this. Yes, I definitely could.

I cleared my throat. "If we divide the work I think this would go much faster. So maybe I could do... 1910 through 1949 and you can do 1950 through 1978."

"What happened to team effort?"

He was undoubtedly referencing our little Potions disagreement.

I scowled. "It is a team effort, just a separate team effort. Or would you rather I let you do all the work? You seemed eager back in class."

He didn't answer and I felt a tiny surge of accomplishment.

We both wordlessly started going through our respective piles. Filch's office was a dingy little place. With only a desk, two chairs and a cabinet for files. The fact that it was Filch's was what made it so creepy. It was also unexplainably hot in here.

Regulus had taken the chair in front of the desk and seemed already engrossed in his task. He seemed a little tired, if he weren't sorting files it would almost seem as if he were about to pass out. I could see the resemblance with his brother in some of his features, and as much as I hated to admit it, Sirius Black's annoying self was one of the finest male specimens I had ever encountered, so the fact that his brother resembled him even a little bit made him pretty handsome in itself.

Okay, seriously, why was this place so suffocating?

I stood up from my spot on the floor and pulled my school robes over my head. I grinned as I saw Black's freaked out expression.

I was wearing my workout clothes underneath. Mainly, because I found it slightly odd wearing just robes, and also so I could hurry to train once detention was over.

I'd actually had to convince Professor Vablatsky to let me miss our next two weeks of sessions because of my detention. She had seemed pissed but accepted, though I did have to stay behind after class for some quick sessions throughout the two weeks.

"Are you wearing Muggle clothes?"

"Yes. In case you haven't noticed, it's inexplicably hot in here."

He'd definitely noticed, as I could see the little beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"This is the first time I've ever felt bad for Filch. With this sauna of an office." Regulus commented.

Wait. Was he? Was he talking to me like a normal person? I had no idea what to do in this situation.

"Knowing him, he probably put a spell on the room so we'd melt to death." I replied.

Regulus almost chuckled. "I wouldn't put it past him."

My smile faded as I realised. "He can't have done that though, since he's a squib."

Regulus frowned. "Really? How'd you know?"

Oh fuck. I didn't realise that bit wasn't public information. I almost sympathised with Filch for being the only other person in this castle without magic abilities, but he's an arsehole, so. I avoided Regulus's dark eyes. "Uh, someone mentioned it."

"Hm."

"Why do I feel like although he's the caretaker he has never once cleaned this room. I'm genuinely scared to sit on this floor." I changed the subject quickly.

"Why don't you sit on the chair then?"

I scoffed. "I'd rather sit on this dirty ass floor than on Filch's chair."

With a defeated sigh, I sat down on the floor, trying to avoid making direct skin contact with the floor.

As I started going through the papers, I could hear Regulus shuffling on his work area, and a second later I felt a presence towering over me.

"Come on, we're switching places." Regulus said.

"Oh no, that's okay – "

"Edwards." Regulus gave me a look. "Just sit on the chair."

I said nothing but quickly grabbed my box of files and stood up. Standing so close to Regulus made me realise how tall he actually was. My heart fluttered. Ugh, calm down bitch.

By the time we finished, only two hours had passed. One would figure we could leave, or Filch would give us some more work until the three hours were up. But Filch hadn't even checked up on us.

"So, do we just wait for Filch?" I asked.

"I guess so." Regulus said.

I exhaled loudly and looked at the clock on the wall. Forty minutes until Filch liberated us. I retied my hair, as it was almost completely out of its bun and sang quietly to myself. " _It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes._ "

I finished tying my hair to see Regulus staring at me with a small frown of confusion. I tried to hold back a blush. "Just a little tune I've heard, seemed fitting."

I couldn't even remember where I'd heard it before.

"You're a half-blood, right?"

I tensed at Regulus's question. "Yeah, my mum was a witch, and my dad was a Muggle."

"Were?"

"Yeah, they're dead. That's why I finally came to Hogwarts?"

"Why didn't you come when you were eleven?"

I shrugged. "I was very sickly as a child, my parents didn't think it would be a good idea for me to come here, so I didn't."  _Plus, technically, I hadn't gotten an acceptance letter._

Regulus nodded and we stayed in silence for a while.

It was about ten minutes later that Filch finally came back and let us go.

* * *

_The sound of my blades against the ice was the most beautiful sound on Earth. There was nothing more calming to me than that sound. I let the cold embrace me as I did a three turn and picked the ice behind me with my right foot for a flip._

_As I landed, I felt the ice beneath my blade give out. My heart dropped to my stomach as the ice crumbled beneath me with a sickening crack. But, how could this happen?_

_My whole leg went down into the whole I'd created and the ice water made me shiver. Soon enough, the rest of the ice started breaking into huge chunks to reveal water underneath. I tried to hold on to a chunk of ice as the lower part of my body went into the water. The cold was making it very hard to move and the ice I was holding onto was quickly melting._

_There was no way I was going to survive this. The cold was way too much. The skates tied securely to my feet were dragging me down. And I couldn't see land anywhere I looked._

_I could feel the tears streaming down my cheeks as I went under. I tried hard to kick but my legs were almost frozen stiff, and my skates felt like anchors tied to my feet._

_All of a sudden, there were two strong arms enveloping me, and carrying me out of the water._

_I started warming up as soon as I got out. The man who'd rescued me held me close to his chest as I cried. He rubbed my arms to help me warm up and gave a tender kiss to my forehead._

_"You gave me a good scare there, Rainbow." The man said in a deep soft voice._

_I finally looked up at him. It was Regulus Black. The tender look in his grey eyes was making me feel some type of way._

_My eyes widened as I stared at him._

"Rainbow! Rainbow! Wake up, you're gonna be late for History."

I opened my eyes to Saf standing over my bed, trying to shake me awake.

What the hell had that dream been?

"You missed breakfast. We figured we'd let you sleep, you must've come back pretty late last night, we were already asleep. We brought you something to eat, but if you don't wake up now, you're going to be very late." Bella said as she handed me a piece of toast and set a glass of pumpkin juice on my nightstand.

"Yeah, thanks. What time is it?" I asked groggily.

"Ten to nine," replied Saf. "Jem's downstairs, he said he'd walk to History with you."

"Oh, tell him to go to class, I'll probably be more than a little bit late. I want to shower."

"Won't Binns be mad you're late?" Saf asked.

"He literally won't even notice if I come in late."

"Okay, if you say so. I gotta say, you've turned out to be more of a little rebel than what I thought when I first met you." Saf smiled at me.

The girls bid their goodbyes and left for their respective classes. I wouldn't say I needed to shower before going to class, I could make it in time if I really wanted to. But I really didn't want to.

I showered to try to forget about the odd dream I just had, but I'd had a hard time. It specially didn't help that I had History of Magic with Regulus, and only three other people.

It was then that I remembered we'd actually been studying dream interpretation in Divination. Professor Vablatsky had even given me a dream journal, that they apparently used for class year round. I very rarely dreamed, so I had figured I'd just make up what I dreamt, or maybe ask someone who wasn't in the class to tell me what they had dreamt. But since coming to Hogwarts I'd been having an odd amount of dreams. I had no idea why, maybe Mercury was in gatorade or whatever. I'd have to ask Professor Vablatsky.


	6. Dreams and Detention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm a slut for Mamma Mia 2, leave me alone, it's the only thing that brings me joy these days.
> 
> Also, I have no idea how heavy a pound is, so forgive me.

It was the first Hogsmeade weekend.

My friends had taken it upon themselves to show me all the sights the small village had to offer. I had to admit, it was definitely a picturesque place, it kind of made me wish I'd been able to bring my camera.

We'd visited the joke shop, where Nat had gotten a haul of prank supplies, the quill shop, although I despised quills and was perfectly fine with my Muggle pens, and a clothing shop, where I was tempted to buy something but I knew I'd probably never wear wizard clothes after I left Hogwarrs, so I restrained myself

The only shop I'd actually bought anything at was Honeydukes, because Lily had given me a small list of sweets she wanted me to send her and also because I have a bit of a sweet tooth.

Our last stop was at the Three Broomsticks, which I never quite understood what it was, it was sort of a café but also a tavern, and maybe an inn, who knows. But it was great. It had a very lively atmosphere, since it was packed with about half the school, and everyone seemed to know the servers by name.

Butterbeer seemed to be the predominant beverage of choice in the place, but among the elder students, the preference was more on the alcoholic side.

I'd stuck with my Butterbeer order, but my friends ordered different sorts of odd sounding drinks.

"So girls, rumour has it you have a transfer student in your midst." A short blonde woman said as she placed our drinks on the table.

"Yes, Rosie!" Saf exclaimed. "This is Daisy Edwards."

"Hi." I said.

"Pleasure to meet you, Daisy. I'm Rosmerta." The lady said good-naturedly. "Hogwarts doesn't get many transfer students."

I looked down awkwardly. "Yeah well, it was a special situation."

Rosmerta changed the subject. "So what're you planning to do after Hogwarts, Daisy?"

"Um I'm still not quite sure."

There was an awkward pause.

Tessa spoke up. "Well I'll tell you this, Rosie, she is a great singer!"

I could feel myself blush. She only said that because the only class we had together was music.

"Oh but she can't be any better than you, Tess!" Rosmerta exclaimed, not sounding too outraged. Then she said to me, "you know, Tessa has sang here her fair share of times."

Nat let out a loud gasp all of a sudden. "Oh my god! Rainbow! You should sing here too!"

Was she drunk already? She'd only drank half of her weird wizard alcohol. Were wizard alcohols stronger?

The rest of the girls all made loud noises of agreement.

"Well you're welcome to sing here whenever you like, Daisy." Rosmerta said.

Why did she encourage them?

Natalliya grabbed my arm and gave me a little shake. "How about right now? That song we were singing in class yesterday. You said it was the best song ever written."

My heart sped up a little. Surely this was not going to happen, would it?

I sipped my Butterbeer.

"If you want, the stage is set up." What the hell, Rosmerta?! "We had Diana and a few others perform a few hours ago."

I looked around, and indeed, past all the heads of students, at the front there was a small stage with a few microphone stands and other gear. Oh lord.

"Yes!" Nat pretty much screamed at Rosmerta. "Announce a special performance by Daisy Edwards!"

My eyes widened. "What?! Natalliya, no, I can't."

"Oh come on! It'll be fun, just like in class! If you want Tess and I'll sing with you."

I thought about it for a second. Well it  _had_  been fun in class. I sighed. "Okay."

"Yay!" Nat shrieked in my ear. "Rosie, make that a special performance by Daisy uh Daisy and the Darlings!"

Saf choked on her drink before howling with laughter.

Rosmerta nodded at Nat and wandered off.

"I can't believe y'all are forcing me to do this." I said.

Natalliya was hopping in her seat with excitement. "Oh we can't perform in these clothes though."

With a wave of her wand, Nat transformed our plain black robes into some flashy blue outfits. Oh god, what is going on?

My brain barely processed Rosmerta announcing our little group through the speakers or however wizard mics worked when Nat exclaimed, "let's go, darlings!" and pulled me and Tessa off our seats and onto the stage.

A microphone was shoved into my hand and I looked out at the expentant audience. It was in that moment that I realised I didn't know the vast majority of the people here and in a couple of months I would probably literally never see them again.

I started out slow.

" _I've been cheated by you_

_and I think you know when_

_so I've made up my mind_

_it must come to an end._

' _Look at me now_

_will I ever learn_

_I don't know how_

_but I suddenly lose control_

_there's a fire within my soul_."

Nat and Tessa joined me.

" _Just one look and I can hear a bell ring_

_one more look and I forget everything._ "

I might not have been as drunk as my friends, but there's something about being around drunk people that gets you in the mood.

" _Mamma mia_

_does it show again?_

_My, my_

_just how much I've missed you._ "

Soon enough I was belting out the lyrics without a care in the world. I didn't even think about the crowd possibly thinking we were crazy people, I just cared about having fun with my friends.

" _And when you go_

_when you slam the door_

_I think you know_

_that you won't be away too long_

_you know that I'm not that strong_."

We were even doing the little embarrassing dance routine we'd come up with during class.

" _Mamma mia_

_now I really know_

_My, my_

_I should not have let you go._ "

As we finished with our triumphant pose, I was tempted to do a mic drop but I didn't want to get on Rosmerta's bad side, so I settled with doing a little bow.

Surprisingly, we got a fair round of applause, which Natalliya's drunk ass welcomed.

Nat then turned to me and Tessa and pretty much tackled us with a hug. "You guys! That was amazing! We  _have_  to do that again!"

* * *

"No! Edwards, stop, you're going to break it. Goddammit."

I leaned onto the trophy case and exhaled. "I know everything about my demeanor and personality screams lazy ass, but I do actually exercise."

Regulus seemed definitely surprised. "Well, you're surprisingly strong."

I smiled and shrugged. "I can bench press a hundred pounds."

"Bench press?"

"Right, I forgot wizards don't use gyms. Nevermind."

For the second week of our detention, Regulus and I had been tasked with cleaning the trophy room. Without magic. The joke was on Filch though, because, guess what, bitch? I can't do magic either way.

The trophy room was pretty huge, and seemed to be pretty useless since it was covered in an immaculate layer of dust.

We had already emptied out one case to clean the trophies, and after I'd moved it, we'd sweeped behind it, and we were now on the next case of trophies.

"I don't understand why there's so many trophies. Most of them are so old, it's not like anyone knows these people anymore. And like why are there so many individual trophies? Like, take them home, bitch." I ranted to Regulus, not really caring about whether he wanted to hear it or not.

"Maybe they keep them for students to clean."

I laughed. "Yeah, probably. I mean, so many of these sound so stupid. Like, services to the school, what does that even mean?"

I finished wiping another trophy and set it aside.

"You know, you never mentioned how you got detention." Regulus said.

"Neither did you."

He didn't reply. Why are wizards so secretive and shady?

"You know how, I got special permission to stay out past curfew a few days a week?" I gave in.

Regulus nodded.

"Well I might have stayed out past curfew a few days I wasn't allowed to, and Filch might have caught me, and I might have tricked him into thinking it was one of the days I was allowed to stay out. Twice." I avoided Regulus's gaze.

"Wow, he must have been pissed off. If there's one thing Filch hates it's to be made look like a fool."

"I know, but he just makes it so easy." I said with a grin.

To my surprise, Regulus smiled amusedly back at me. "He definitely does."

In that moment Filch's cat, Mrs Norris came in through the door and laid down beside Regulus and I.

"It seems like Filch actually wants to watch us this time, Merlin knows why." Regulus said.

"She's cute." I rubbed the cat's back, she seemed not to mind. " _Let's go, let's go little kitty kat_

_I think it's time to go_

_Let's go little kitty kat_

_He don't want no more_

_Let's go little kitty kat_

_I'm not getting it, I'm not feeling it_."

Regulus gave me an odd look.

"What? It's not my fault y'all ain't cultured in Muggle music."

"Why do you speak like you're from the American South when you're from the English city?"

Good question. "Because it's fun."

"So that's you're basis for doing things? Because they're fun?"

I smiled. "Well if can have fun and not harm anyone, why on earth would you choose not to have fun?"

* * *

Professor Vablatsky shuffled the deck of tarot cards in her long, boney fingers before sighing and setting them down on her desk.

"I think we're going to have to switch gears with these sessions, Rainbow."

Oh no. She was finally done with my mediocrity at Divination.

"Oh, okay."

"I think that you're not letting yourself use your gift properly. You know you have it, but you don't want to use it. I know you probably think all these tarot cards and crystal balls are silly, which is fine, I understand. You have the ability to use them, but there's something holding you back, you need to let go." Professor Vablatsky said in a cool, soothing voice and I just couldn't deny myself the fact that she was right.

I looked down. "I just, I don't know how."

Professor Vablatsky gave me an empathetic look. "And that's okay. We'll go slow. First off, I want you to ask any and every question you have about Divination."

"Um okay. I've actually been meaning to ask you about dream interpretation. I've been dreaming a lot lately, and at first I thought it was because Mercury is in uh gatorade –"

"Retrograde." Professor V corrected.

"Yeah, that. I've always been sort of interested in astrology and I know weird things happen when Mercury's in uh that thing, but I'm not sure. I was hoping you could help."

"Sure. What did you dream about?" Professor Vablatsky asked.

I recounted my odd dream, leaving out the fact that it was Regulus who had rescued me, of course.

"Well, when people dream about drowning, it usually means that they're feeling overwhelmed or overburdened. Dumbledore told me you have a skating competition coming up in about a month, maybe you're feeling nervous about not doing well. Or maybe since there's been so much change in your life lately, it's a little too much for you, it's understandable you might be under certain str stress. You said it was someone you knew who rescued you, maybe it's someone who's attention you've been after lately."

I blinked a few times. Oh okay. I wasn't – Why the heck would I want Regulus Black's attention? This made zero sense. Ugh Divination is a scam, confirmed. "Okay."

Professor Vablatsky could tell I wasn't completely sold on her interpretations. "Rainbow, you must remember that dreams are an expression of the subconscious, so even if these are some feelings you might not recognise, they are the true interpretations of what you feel."

"Yeah, yes, I know. Now about crystal balls, is what you see in them the actual event you predict, or is it your own interpretation of the event? Also, can you do like little movies in them? Like can you change the angle in which it's showing? And like change the wardrobe?"

* * *

It was the second to last day of detentions, and I'd actually found that it hadn't been as horrible as I thought it might be. Regulus's presence was bearable, but I wouldn't say I looked forward to seeing him in detention. It's more like I was excited to try out new topics of conversation for our evenings.

Regulus came into the room a tiny bit late, sporting the same gloomy look as always.

I perked up. "Hey! Remember that Muggle cleaning supplies I told you about? I — "

"I know your secret." Regulus blurted out without preamble.

My smile faded, and my heart almost stopped. How the hell had he found out I was a Muggle? It must've been because of the Potions incident, there was no other explanation.

My fight or flight response had almost immediately activated as my eyes searched for the nearest exits. If I screamed, would anybody hear me from this far? Maybe this was an ambush and Death Eaters were going to jump out from behind the trophy cases any second.

In our past two weeks serving detention together, I had come to think that Regulus and I were on good terms, maybe not friends but acquaintances at least. Surely he wouldn't attack me now. He'd probably just at least hate me forever, which turned my heart into knots. Ugh, snap out of it.

"You're a Seer."

Oh sweet baby Jesus lord in heaven thank you. Never had I heard sweeter words. This was the first time I was genuinely happy to be a fucking psychic.

I exhaled. "How'd you know?"

"Well you seem to have a great deal of private sessions with Vablatsky, and Avery told me you always stay behind with her after class, and you've told me a fair share of things about people that you couldn't possibly know." Regulus explained.

"Wait a minute, but none of that stuff could possibly tell you for sure that I'm a Seer."

"Well I also kind of took a chance, and you've now confirmed my suspicions."

My mouth flew open in shock. "You're such a – I've never even told you any predictions about the future or anything."

"Most Seers are also clairvoyant, and you've shown me that plenty of times."

I sighed, though I don't think Regulus realised, of relief. I rather a thousand times he knew about me being a Seer than me being a Muggle. "Huh. I should've realised you're too smart for all that 'oh someone must've told me' shit."

We stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Can you please, please promise me you won't tell anyone?" I pleaded.

"Why don't you want people to know?"

"I just don't want this to change anyone's perception of me. If it got out, half of the people wouldn't believe it, and the other half would either want predictions all the time or be scared I'll make predictions about them, either way my feelings end up hurt."

Silence fell once again as I looked at my detention partner expectantly. Surely even he was capable of showing a little compassion. Wasn't he?

* * *

On the last day of my detention I was on edge.

After our conversation yesterday, Regulus hadn't actually promised me he wouldn't say anything. We'd just sort of stayed working quietly, and then we went our separate ways.

As far as I knew he hadn't told anyone in the time span between yesterday and today's detention. I'd been so stressed after yesterday's detention that I'd barely landed any jumps during my practice later that night, and double footed a few.

Regulus got to the trophy room a little after me, and without a word started cleaning beside me.

Okay, so were we just going to pretend like yesterday never happened?

After a few minutes of silence I was bursting to yell at him to say something, when he finally did.

"You know, you should really be more careful."

"What?"

"If you don't want anyone to find out. I'm not the only smart person in school."

"Does that mean you won't tell anyone?"

"What do you think?" How dare he be snarky now?

"Can you please not be so cryptic for once?"

"I won't tell anyone."

I exhaled softly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

It was probably a good idea to not get on his bad side now. But I couldn't help it. "Can we talk about how the great genius Regulus Black just admitted he's not the only smart person in school?"

Regulus rolled his eyes.


	7. We're Soaring, Flying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments/kudos are always appreciated!

It was during Divination class that it finally happened.

I was proud to announce, that I, Rainbow Evans had made my very first reading as a Seer.

The tarot had been by far the branch of Divination that interested me the most.

The way Muggles and wizards used tarot cards was different, since (most) Muggles couldn't actually predict anything using the cards.

I think it wasn't until I truly let myself be open to the Sight that it came naturally to me.

Nat and I had stayed late in class just talking as Nat lazily shuffled the deck of cards in her hands.

I was very aware of Professor Vablatsky's gaze on us when I said to Nat, "Let me read your cards."

Nat raised an eyebrow. "Uh okay."

She spread out the cards in an arrangement I was yet to learn and looked at me expectantly.

I took a deep breath and for once, I let my instincts guide me as I turned the first card.

"The Chariot." I exhaled. "You have some hard work ahead of you. The tasks your future holds will be incredibly tough and will test you in every way possible, but your sheer determination and confidence is going to keep you on track. After all your struggles you will achieve what you set out to do."

Where was I getting this from again?

"Actually that does make sense, I'm set out to be an Auror, which is one of the toughest professions out there." Nat reflected.

Oh my god it's happening, it's happening. Everybody stay calm. I was actually, real life reading someone's tarot cards.

I withdrew from the spread again. "Temperance."

I stared at the hand painted angel pouring water from one cup into another. "You're going to take control of your life by practicing moderation and balance. The conflict you've been having with your mother will be resolved, and you will begin a new chapter of your life."

Motherfucker, I was on fire.

"The Queen of Wands. The advice of a close female friend is going to help you achieve your success. You must listen."

"Shit, Rainbow that was really good." Nat sounded genuinely impressed.

I blushed. Even I was impressed with myself. "Thanks, I can hardly believe I did that."

"How did you know about my mother though?" Nat asked curiously.

"Don't we all have mother problems?" I tried to bluff.

Nat didn't seem satisfied with my answer but let the subject alone.

Professor Vablatsky approached us. I'd been painfully aware of her watching us carefully the whole time. "Natalliya, do you mind if I speak privately with Rainbow?"

The look on Nat's face told me that she definitely thought there was something fishy going on here, but she left without a word.

The professor took the seat in front of me. "That was impressive, Rainbow."

"I tried to let my instincts guide me, like you said, I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to do it on another student."

"Oh no, it's fine. I'm glad you did it when you felt it. How do you feel?"

I smiled. "Like I can conquer the world."

The Quidditch pitch was a surprisingly soothing place for me. I'd found myself sitting in the stands doing homework more than a few times a week here. Most of the teams didn't mind me, except the Gryffindor team, who always forced me to leave.

The Quidditch scene at Hogwarts was surprisingly dramatic. After last week's game of Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff I'd received some backlash from my own House for supporting the Gryffindor team (which was way better than Hufflepuff). You'd think the Gryffindor team was happy a Slytherin was so supportive of them but I'd been told to "back off" and that they "didn't need a Slytherin's praises".

The one thing that everyone could agree on was that they didn't mind me as a commentator, which was literally the only thing I needed. And the person keeping track of all of this, the editor in chief of the Hogwarts Gazette, Haley Virtue, a lively Ravenclaw in my year with journalism aspirations, she was also the only person who really cared about the gazette.

Don't get me wrong, people did read the gazette, just not all of it. The only sections worth reading for most people were the sports section and the menu for the week.

I'd been slightly surprised when Haley had asked to interview me for the gazette, I knew she usually interviewed the players but she claimed people actually cared about my opinion on the Quidditch Cup. I'd mostly agreed because I liked Haley, and I knew she really cared about the gazette, whether people cared about my opinion or not was all the same to me.

We'd see what happened when the interview was published anyway.

"What are you doing here, Edwards?"

I looked up startled. It was eleven in the morning, which meant most people were in class and the pitch was empty except for me, and well, now Regulus Black.

"Am I not allowed to sit here, Black?"

Regulus rolled his eyes. "At this hour."

"I had a free period. Why are you out here? I thought Mr Smartest Wizard had his schedule full." I said.

It was easy to figure out why he was here though, he had his training robes on and a broom in his hands.

"Herbology got cancelled." Regulus explained.

Saf and Bella were both in that class, I should probably go find them. "You're doing a solo training session, then?"

Regulus nodded. "Do you play?" He blurted out, as if he'd been debating whether to ask me or not. He cleared his throat. "I mean, you said you worked out before and you seem to know a lot about Quidditch when you comment."

I could feel the corners of my mouth rising. "I've actually never played Quidditch. I grew up mostly around Muggles, so I never had the chance."

"But surely you've flown before, right?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

Regulus seemed shocked, which I think is the most emotion I've ever seen him show. "Merlin's beard, aren't you friends with Chopra? Why doesn't she teach you?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, it's never come up."

Regulus paused, then sighed and shook his head as if he were debating something. He then muttered something along the lines of "can't believe" and "doing this". He turned to me, "alright then."

He turned on his heel and started walking away from me. What the fuck was he on? He stopped and looked back at me. "Aren't you coming, then?"

"What?"

"I'm teaching you how to fly." He said with a little huff, as if I should've known.

"What, like right now?"

Regulus nodded once and I picked up my stuff and followed him.

We got to the locker rooms and Regulus opened the broom shed.

He grabbed a broom and turned to me. "This is Chopra's broom, I assume she won't mind if you borrow it."

"So do I." I took the broom from him. I always thought wizard brooms were kind of special, but this felt like nothing more than a really fancy broomstick.

Before we went out of the locker rooms again I stopped and turned to slip off my robes.

"What are you doing?" Regulus asked.

"Well I don't have Quidditch robes and I happen to be wearing my work out clothes so."

Regulus stayed silent, and waited for me to be done before we walked back out onto the empty pitch.

"Alright, set the broom on the ground." Regulus instructed.

I did as he said. Where the hell was this going?

"Now put your hand out like this, and say 'up'." He said.

Wait, what? That sounded like it required some magic to work, and in case anyone forgot, I didn't have magic. Oh god, this was not going to go down well. Fuck, who knew if Muggles could even fly brooms? As far as I knew, we might not be able to. I really should have thought this through.

"But if I already had it in my hand, why do I have to go through all that hassle?" I tried to argue.

Regulus exhaled sharply but he explained. "Because the broom needs to trust you first, and there's no way to tell better than if it comes when you call."

I put my hand out over the broom. Here goes nothing. "Up."

The broom didn't move an inch, as expected. My heart started going.

"Try it again, it doesn't always happen the first time." Regulus said.

Oh okay, thank god. I've no idea what I was so relieved about though, no matter how many times I tried, it wasn't going to happen because I was a freaking Muggle.

Okay maybe if I tried really hard, the broom would sense my desperation and take pity on me.

After the fifth try, the broom fucking got up on its own, and flew right into my open palm. What the fuck? I scanned our surroundings quickly, trying to find an outer source for this feat but came up empty. How did that just happen?

"I don't know why you look so surprised, you did it faster than most people." Regulus said.

What the fuuuuck?

"Alright, now mount the broom like this." Regulus demonstrated and I did as he said. "Now give a light kick off the ground. Light."

My stomach churned. This was nerve-wracking. I was afraid I would go flying off, but I took a deep breath and kicked.

As soon as my feet lifted an inch off the ground, I freaked. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. I'm going to die."

"Calm down. You'll be fine." Regulus's tone wasn't the most comforting thing ever.

I held onto the broom for dear life, my legs wrapped close. "I can't do this."

"Okay, get down."

Oh shit, had he gotten exasperated with me? Was he not going to teach me anymore?

I got off the broom.

"You need to lose your fear of flying first." Regulus said. He then mounted his own broom, turned to me and said, "Get on."

Wait, what? He wanted me to what?

"You want me to do what?"

Regulus looked like he was seriously considering taking back what he'd said. "Just get on, if you fly properly a little, it'll help you lose your fear of flying on a broom."

I walked towards him hesitantly. Surely he wasn't going to drop me or anything.

"I'm not going not drop you."

I guess you would call that an encouragement from him.

I gingerly put my hands on Regulus's surprisingly broad shoulders and positioned myself behind him.

Regulus didn't waste a second after saying "hold on" before taking off.

My stomach lurched as we went higher and higher off the ground. I held on tight to Regulus.

"See? It's not that scary up here." Regulus said.

He was right. It was actually pretty cool being up there, there was a certain power it held, though I couldn't help being aware of just how dangerous this sport was, flying so far off the ground on a tiny piece of wood and barely any protective gear. Well, says the girl whose sport involves having knives tied to your feet.

"This is actually pretty nice." I admitted.

"So, ready for some speed now?"

I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he was smirking.

"What — ?"

Before I could get another word out, Regulus had taken off. I immediately switched from his shoulders to his middle for a more secure grip.

The wind whipped past my face and I couldn't help but be aware of how close our bodies were and how oddly personal this felt. Was I really on a broom with Regulus Black? Pressed up against his back, with my arms around his torso? I was glad he couldn't see my face because I could feel a blush spreading on my cheeks.

Regulus slowed down. "Not too bad, is it?"

My heart hammered against my chest, I hoped he couldn't feel it. "No, not bad at all."

It was Nat's birthday. I'd only found out a few days ago, when I'd walked into the Great Hall for lunch and found it was one of the very rare times when Nat was sat at the Slytherin table.

The girls had been discussing what to do for Nat's birthday on Saturday, they wanted to have a sleepover, but since Nat was a Gryffindor and Saf, Bella and I were Slytherins, they couldn't agree on a place to have it where it wouldn't be problematic. They were trying to come up with places other than the dorms to have a sleepover, and after some thought I'd come up with something.

So we were currently sitting in my training room. We had moved some of the work out equipment aside and we'd brought in an exorbitant amount of blankets and pillows. And just like that, our sleepover was set.

"We'll always be together

We'll always be together

We'll always be together."

Nat and I sang as she put her arm around me and pretended to drive an invisible flying car. She had been over the moon when she found out I knew what Grease was. Because apparently, the rest of our friends had never seen it, and since we couldn't watch it at the castle, the most logical course of action was for Nat and I to recreate the whole movie by ourselves.

"And finally Danny and Sandy fly off into the sunset in Danny's car as their friends wave them off." Nat concluded, a little out of breath. She crashed down on top of the blankets.

Our friends clapped at our performance.

"Wait, Muggles have flying cars?" Saf asked.

"No, they don't. It was just a thing they put in the movie, it's weird, no one knows why." Nat explained.

I took a breath. "Okay, let's do something calmer now, that was way intense."

Nat perked up. "Oh, let's play truth or dare."

"What is that?" Tessa asked.

Dear god, was she for real?

Nat explained the game quickly. "Alright, I'll go first. Bella, truth or dare?"

"Merlin, you scare the shit out of me, Nat, but truth, I guess." Bella said.

Nat smirked. "When you dated Avery – "

"Merlin's fucking beard, when will you get over that?" Bella groaned.

Wait, what? "You dated Avery?!"

Nat gasped. "That's right, Bow doesn't know."

"Oh god." Bella sank into her blanket.

Nat was happy to explain. "You see, Bow, once upon a time, when we were in Fourth Year, our dearest Belladonna here somehow thought dating Avery was a good idea, they went out for five months before Bella came to her senses, which brings us to my question." She turned to Bella, "what about Avery was genuinely attractive to you?"

Bella sighed. "I have no idea, I literally don't remember. He was nice to me?"

"He was nice to you? That's your standard?"

Bella groaned. "Leave me alone." She shoved a giggling Nat. "Okay, shut up, it's my turn. Bow, truth or dare?"

I chose truth, as I felt like they should know at least some truth about me, since I was already lying to them in many aspects.

Bella gave me a serious look. "Do you and Regulus Black have a thing?"

My eyes widened in shock, and there were a couple of gasps.

"What?!" Nat's shocked voice questioned.

"Why would you think that?" I asked, not even knowing how to respond.

"Well, the other day when Herbology got cancelled, Saf and I went looking for you and someone told us they'd seen you in the Quidditch pitch. " Oh no. "So we went, but you seemed pretty cosy with Regulus so we left you to it."

Oh my god. I could feel the blush spreading up my neck. Nat was screaming.

"I – well, I had detention with him and we talked a little, and I ran into him at the pitch and I told him I'd never flown a broom before so he offered to teach me, but that was IT." I explained in one breath.

"Wait, you've never flown before?" Saf side tracked. I shook my head. "Well, then I kind of understand, but there was still something going on there."

"Teaching you how to fly? Is that what they're calling it these days?" Nat teased.

I tossed a pillow at her.

We went for a few other rounds before it was my turn again. Tessa had chosen truth. "Alright, Tessa, fuck marry kill, the Hufflepuff men – "

Tessa cut me off. "What did you say?"

"You know, out of Ravi, Frank and Brad, which one would you fuck, marry and kill?" I explained.

The rest of the girls laughed.

"None of them!" Tessa cried.

"That's the point of the game, making it hard to choose. Let's go babe."

Tessa huffed, and paused to think. "I don't want to kill Frank, I love him, but I also don't see him in that way."

"Oh come on, Tessa, everyone knows you like Frank." Bella teased.

"I really don't! Ugh. Okay, I really don't like Brad, so I guess I'd kill him. Fuck," Tessa swallowed as if it pained her to say, "Ravi."

"Oh my god, Tessa ew, that's my cousin." Saf squealed as she covered her head with a pillow.

I laughed. "So, marry Frank, huh?"

"Well, if I had to marry one of those three men, I guess he would be the most apt candidate." Tessa reasoned.

I smirked. "Yeah, sure, Tess."

Tessa shook her head and quickly changed the subject. "Saf! Truth or dare!"

Saf didn't even think about it. "Truth."

Natalliya huffed. "Y'all are boooring. Only I've done a dare, and it was also boring."

"Hey!" Bella exclaimed, offended.

"Fine, dare." Saf caved.

Nat smirked and leaned over to whisper on Tessa's ear. Tessa's mouth opened in shock and she said, "no! I'm not saying that, Natalliya."

"Yes, you are." Nat turned to Saf. "Saf, Tessa dares you to go skinny dipping in the black lake."

So that's how we ended up here.

The black lake had unfrozen a few weeks ago, but it was still pretty cold, especially in the middle of the night. The hardest part of this dare had actually been sneaking three tipsy girls out of the castle.

I sat by the lakeshore as Nat and Bella yelled at an underwear clad Saf (she'd refused to go full nude) to just do it.

Nat soon got tired of Saf standing on the edge of the lake and pushed her in. Saf's scream pierced through the night as she splashed into the lake. I couldn't help but laugh along with the rest of the girls.

Saf also had a little smile on her face as she swam back to shore. What I didn't expect was for Saf to hold onto my ankle and pull me into the cold waters of the lake along with her.

I splashed Saf as I resurfaced. Dang, it was really cold, but there was something exhilarating about being in here.

In that moment, I didn't even care if the whole castle could hear us as the rest of the girls went into the lake laughing and splashing around.


	8. The Hogwarts Gazette

COMMENTATOR DAISY EVANS ON QUIDDITCH, CONTROVERSY AND MORE

BY HALEY VIRTUE / February 26, 1979

If you know anything about Quidditch at Hogwarts, you know that good commentators are few and far between, which is the reason why they usually get very long terms. When Richie Eriksen graduated last year, we lost a great commentator, and at the beginning of this year things weren't looking so great in terms of finding a new one. Then came along transfer student, Daisy Edwards, and everything changed.

Many things have been said about Daisy Edwards's commentary, but if there's one thing for sure, it's that she's one of the good ones. I recently sat down with Daisy to discuss all things Quidditch Cup, her opinions on it and more.

HV: Thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview, Daisy.

DE: Of course! It's my pleasure.

HV: I'm not going to beat around the bush. Many things have been said about your support for the Gryffindor team on last Saturday's match, some people say you're betraying your own House, Slytherin, some people think your feelings towards the Gryffindor team are not genuine. What do you have to say about the subject?

DE: (sighs) I am a fan of Quidditch. I am a proud member of the Slytherin House. Therefore I will always support first and foremost the Slytherin team. That being said, I can recognise a good Quidditch team when I see one, and the Gryffindor team is a good team, and don't we all want to support a good team? If Gryffindor plays against Slytherin, of course I will support Slytherin, but you can't deny that the Gryffindor team is a [redacted] good team, no matter if you like the House itself or not. And that is the only thing I have to say about this matter.

HV: Is it true you made an official complaint to the school about Slytherin Chaser Cian Vanderbilt calling you a blood purist slur?

DE: Yes, he shouldn't be able to get away with calling people [redacted].

HV: Even though he might get kicked off the team because of this?

DE: Yes, the comments he has made towards me and several other students, including players of all four Houses, are incredibly worrying. No human being should make such crude comments towards another. It's one thing when I call him a bad Quidditch player, but it's a whole other when he makes such degrading comments towards my person. I know you're a pureblood, Haley, so you might not fully understand, but it's not particularly nice when someone calls you a 'filthy half-breed'. And he has not only made these comments, but he has also threatened my person and some of my friends, something for which he should absolutely face severe consequences. I believe by the time this interview comes out, the right authorities will already have been alerted of these threats. I really don't care if he plays for my own House's team. Plus y'all act as if he was an actual good player.

HV: Right now, it's looking very likely Cian Vanderbilt will be at least suspended from the Slytherin team. We reached out to Cian for comment, and he said "she should've kept her mouth shut."

DE: (laughs hysterically) The easiest way for none of this to have happened would have been if you would manage to restrain you uncalled-for comments.

HV: Moving on, what do you say to the people who have said that Slytherin Captain Regulus Black is biased against non-pureblood players?

DE: Show me the receipts, I want to see the receipts.

HV: What do you think about Evgenia Belyavskiy maybe getting MVP this year?

DE: It's what she deserves.

HV: We've gotten word that Professor Slughorn, your Head of House, has asked you to be more prudent during Quidditch games.

DE: Yeah, sadly, there's not a man alive who can tell me what to do.

HV: What do you think about the Hufflepuff team's almost assured last place in the Cup?

DE: Sherran Abbott, you're the only [redacted] in this house I ever respected.

HV: How do you feel about Dorian Avery heckling you while he's playing?

DE: (sighs) I had never come so near to throwing hands with a thirteen-year-old until I met Dorian Avery.

HV: What game are you most excited to comment this season?

DE: Gryffindor versus Slytherin!

HV: Best Chaser this season?

DE: Evgenia Belyavskiy, definitely.

HV: Best Beater?

DE: Ellie Benson, but also Armie Saavedra.

HV: Best Keeper?

DE: Safiya Chopra.

HV: Best Seeker?

DE: Natalliya Carson, but Grace Richardson is up there too.

HV: Have you heard of the game started by some students where every time you say 'alright' and 'oh and' they take a handful of Every Flavour Beans until someone pukes?

DE: Yes, I think it's hilarious.

HV: There was some speculation that since you're new at Hogwarts, you don't really know much about the Quidditch scene here.

DE: Well, I wouldn't say I don't know anything about it. I've done my research, I know everything there is to know about every single players' Quidditch career here at Hogwarts, which I think is the most important thing. But hey, if anyone wants to discuss past Quidditch seasons, I'm down. You want to talk about James Potter's quaffle skills, Damon Diggle's spins, Alison Burr's feints? Gryffindor's great loss of 1975? The unexpected Hufflepuff win of 1977?

HV: I believe that answer just about says it all. Thank you so much for your time, Daisy, I look forward to listening to your commentary next match.

DE: Thank you!

* * *

 

The few days after my interview had come out were a whirlwind, everyone either had to pick a fight with me or complain about something, and a few show me support. I was honestly surprised so many people had cared enough to actually read the interview.

I'd visited Dumbledore's office earlier today to tell him three things.

First, Vanderbilt's arsehole comments about blood. He didn't seem too enraged, I bet this had happened before, but he'd promised me he would do something about it.

Second, to let him know I'd be leaving next week for my competition and would be gone for two weeks, as I did actually want to train with my coach for a little while before the competition. Dumbledore was pretty cool about it.

Lastly, to get a straight answer on whether I had magic or not. But since this was Dumbledore we were talking about, I hadn't gotten a completely satisfying answer. He had explained how most Muggleborns had a wizard ancestor somewhere down the line, and that's how they got their magic. So both Lily and I had an ancestor who had magic, and while Lily was a full witch, I had a form of magic, which translated into the Sight, and since I had a form of magic, most objects especially enchanted to react to wizards would think I was one, which was the reason the broom had reacted to me. Anti-Muggle spells would probably not work on me either. Whatever all that meant.

"Hey Edwards!"

I stopped in my tracks. I turned around to see Cian Vanderbilt and two of his little Sixth Year cronies whose names I didn't know. Ugh.

I knew for sure this would mean trouble. "Leave me alone."

I attempted to keep walking but the three men blocked my path.

Vanderbilt looked especially pissed off. "So, you did rat me out to Dumbledore?"

I stood straighter. "The things I've heard you say were concerning, he needed to know."

Vanderbilt was getting up close and personal, his ugly mug only a few inches away from my face. "If I get kicked off the team because of you, this is not going to end well for you."

"You know, I don't think making  _more_  threats is going to work on your favour here."

"You're such a fucking snitch, Edwards."

"I wouldn't have said anything if you'd called me a doo-doo head, but you threatened me and my friends."

"And I would do it again." He reached for his wand.

"Is there a problem here?" A new voice said.

Regulus had gotten here at some point, and was now giving Vanderbilt and I his Stern Prefect Look.

"Why don't you ask Edwards? After all, she's the one trying to get me kicked off the team." Vanderbilt said with a sneer.

Regulus looked done, he said to Vanderbilt, "Just leave Edwards alone."

Oh. Okay. "I don't need your help, Black, I can handle this whiny little bitch on my own."

Vanderbilt looked enraged. "You're going to regret that, half-breed."

He got up close on my personal space as he reached for his wand.

Now, what I did next is not something I usually condone doing, but at this particular moment, this man was about to attack me (I wasn't sure if wizard or Muggle style), and I had exactly zero magic to defend myself if he reached for his wand, but what I did have was biceps.

So I clocked Vanderbilt right on the face.

He fell back. "Ow! What the fuck? You crazy bitch!"

I immediately sensed two arms around my waist, holding me back from having another go. Regulus was such a party-pooper.

Vanderbilt's cronies scrambled as he recovered and finally took out his wand and pointed it at me.

I froze and I instinctively grabbed on to Regulus's forearm in fear. This I couldn't escape with fists.

The last thing I heard was "Vanderbilt stop!" and then everything went black.

* * *

I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the harsh light. Where the hell was I?

It wasn't the morning, or my dorm.

"Bow! Oh my god you're up." Nat's airy voice came from somewhere in the vicinity.

She then launched herself into my arms and squeezed me in a hug.

Then it came back to me. Vanderbilt had done something to me. But I wasn't quite sure what.

"What happened?" I asked groggily.

Nat removed herself form my arms and sat beside me. She took a deep breath and launched into an explanation. "Well from what I know, Vanderbilt tried to pick a fight with you in the hallway outside the Divination classroom, but when he tried to pull his wand on you, you punched him in the face, and then Regulus Black tried to stop the fight but Vanderbilt managed to get one jinx in, though Madame Pomfrey isn't quite sure what jinx it was, but you passed out, and then Regulus Black brought you here, and you've been out for about four hours."

"Regulus brought me here?"

"That's what you get from all that?"

"Well, the other stuff I remember now,  _that_  I don't."

"Well yeah, after he brought you here, he went to the Slytherin common room and told Saf about what happened and she told the rest of us. We were all here for a while but then Pomfrey sent the girls to class, and I was the only one who had a free period so here we are."

That was nice of them.

Madam Pomfrey came into view, holding two vials of potions in her hands. "Miss Carson, thanks for alerting me Miss Edwards was awake."

Oh my god, that was one sassy witch.

Nat muttered an apology and moved aside to let the woman examine me.

I had no idea how wizard doctors worked, I didn't see a stethoscope, or a tongue depressor, or a thermometer, or one of those thingies they put in your ear. Only a wand in sight.

"Well, everything appears to be fine. Apart from passing out, I'd dare say you fared better than Mr Vanderbilt, he's going to have that bruise for days."

Nat laughed hysterically.

 

* * *

The day of the Slytherin versus Gryffindor match was hectic. Everybody was pumped, including me. I'd been approached by many people that day, half had been people telling me they were looking forward to my commenting, and the other half had been people upset over what I'd said about Vanderbilt on the gazette. Good thing I didn't give a rat's ass.

On this day I was accompanied on the commentator's booth by my dear friend Tessa, who had been assigned as Head Girl to keep me in check during the match. How she was going to manage that though, I had no idea.

" _It's Saturday, my dudes_!" I spoke into the mic. " _And you know what that means!!_ " The crowd roared. " _It's time for some –_ "

"Quidditch!" The audience yelled back at me.

" _First and foremost, to all the people who told me this morning that I was throwing Vanderbilt under the bus, I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that I will not only throw Vanderbilt under the bus, I will pick up the bus and drop it on him several times, then I will get on the bus and drive over him, then back up and drive over him again. Mmkay? Good._ "

Tessa tugged at my elbow.

" _Let's now give a warm welcome to the Gryffindor team. First we have the Beaters, cutie-pie but tough as nails, Ellie Benson._ " She was actually the tiniest member of the team, and a Second Year. " _And Andy Caplan. Next up the super trio, Chasers Mina Parsons, Darien Kingsley, and Elsie Macmillan. Now, for the Seeker, the most beautiful glowing sun goddess ever, Natalliya Carson!_ " Nat flew out all smiles and waved at me enthusiastically. " _And Captain, Keeper Louis Whiteley!_ "

' _Slytherins, let me hear y'all make some noise! First up we have, stellar Beaters, dynamic duo, Helena Burke and Dorian Avery! Now for the Chasers, her Quidditch skills are almost as perfect as her face, it's Evgenia Belyavskiy! Also Arthur Cho and Cian Vanderbilt._ " Yes, they were still letting him play, I went to flip him off but Tessa snatched my hand. "O _ur Keeper, beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk ox, Safiya Chopra! And our esteemed Captain, Seeker Regulus Black._ "

Coach Farizan gave a few instructions and blew the whistle as the players flew into the air.

" _And they're off! Slytherin is in possession, but Benson is quick with those bludgers! I must say Gryffindor has a great lineup this year._ "

The Slytherins in the crowd booed at my comment. Ugh, they can be so petty sometimes.

" _Why are you booing me? I'm right._ "

Tessa grabbed my attention with a small shove.

" _Oh and Belyavskiy has scored already, that woman can do it all! Slytherin is in the lead._ "

Caplan started wilding with his Beater's bat for some reason, making a bunch of not-allowed moves. " _Uuuh, Caplan, did you ever learn to fucking read? Because for sure, you've never read the Quidditch rulebook._ "

Tessa elbowed me.

" _Oh and Ellie Benson just absolutely ran down Vanderbilt with a bludger, I always knew you were a good one, Ellie._ "

The moment Gryffindor scored their first goal, I could see the determination in Evgenia's face as she grabbed the quaffle and headed straight for the Gryffinor goal post. " _Oh are you all seeing this play by Evgenia Belyavskiy? My wig is in orbit! Ugh, her power!_ "

Little Avery flew past my booth. "No one cares!"

" _Why don't you go back to preschool, Avery?_ "

"By the way, I'm fourteen, not thirteen."

He was referring to what I'd said about him on the gazette. Will everyone leave that alone already? I opened my mouth ready to retort but Tessa grabbed my arm and said, "Take a breath. Focus on the game."

And I did. Shit, Zhenya had scored while I was having my little quarrel with Avery. " _Oh and that's another goal from Belyavskiy!_ "

"You don't say!" Avery yelled.

That little shit.

Actually, Little Avery and I were on pretty good terms. Our friendship consisted solely of the two of us roasting each other, but I'd still say it was  _a_  friendship.

" _Oh and just as Cho scores, Macmillan gets struck by a bludger and it seems like her wrist is hurt._ "

The game stopped momentarily as Macmillan flew down to get her wrist examined.

" _It seems like Macmillan will be fine, so in the meantime, I thought I should let you all know that  since I know you are all so fond of my Quidditch conspiracy theories, I'm starting a column on the Hogwarts Gazette about it and I want you all to send me suggestions on what theories you have or have heard of that you would like me to talk about, it can be about the BQL or Hogwarts Quidditch. Next week we're discussing: is Vanderbilt really a spy sent here to ruin everyone's lives? And, are the Chudley Cannons part of the Illuminati?_ "

From where I was sitting I could see Vanderbilt's silent rage, which made me smile.

The game went on pretty chill for a while, we were up 30 - 90 (no thanks to Vanderbilt) when I saw two blurs zooming through the pitch. " _And the snitch has been spotted! It seems like a very tight race. Oh I can't look. What's happened? Oh Regulus Black has caught the snitch, Slytherin wins!_ "

Huh, that had been a pretty chill game overall. I stood up in excitement and cheered alongside my classmates.

" _Well, I'm incredibly proud of the Slythein team sans Vanderbilt, but as you all know, I think Gryffindor was great too._ "

An upset Caplan flew past the commentator's booth and yelled. "It's not as if you actually supported us anyway."

I grabbed the mic. " _How dare you? I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you!_ "

Tessa pulled me down into my seat and took the mic from me. "Promise me you'll only say a nice quick farewell."

"Yes, I promise, okay?"

She let me have the mic back. " _Well, see you next time, Hogwarts, I hope you all enjoyed the match_." I paused. "And fuck you – "

But Tessa had already unplugged my mic.


	9. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: If anyone's interested I imagine Bow's short program as a combination of Sasha Cohen's Dark Eyes and Yuna Kim's Send in The Clowns. Her sp music is The Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner.
> 
> Her free skate, a combination of Satoko Miyahara's Madame Butterfly and Yuna Kim's Scheherazade. Her free skate music is Sobre las Olas by Juventino Rosas.
> 
> Let me know if you want the links to those skates, I'll try to put the links here or something.

People have different strategies when it comes to competitions. Personally, I liked to be alone before I competed. To clear my head and just breathe. Which leads to people sometimes saying I'm unfriendly or hate other competitors, which is absolutely not true. But it's enough for me to know that.

After a competition of course there was time to celebrate, have fun and hang out, and this time it was no different, but I also liked taking a moment to analyse my performances.

So I sat in the too soft bed of my hotel room and tried to replay everything that had gone down during my compulsory, short and long programs. The compulsory figures consisted of carving certain patterns in the ice with your figure skates, the judging included a lot of measuring and analysing, so it was a pretty boring. I usually did alright. The short program was a two and a half minute routine in which you had to perform seven required elements including jumps, spins and a step sequence. The free program was a four minute routine where you were, well,  _free_  to perform pretty much any elements you wanted. These three events usually happened during three different days.

This week's performances had been good, though not the best I'd ever had. I'd landed all my jumps, though I'd struggled on a few, and my 3Lz — triple Lutz — on my free skate had been under-rotated, but other than that, the jumps had all been fine. The spins hadn't gone all that well, I'd intended to do an upright spin with a variation that required a lot of flexibility, on a good day I'd perform it with a hyperextension, but I'd backed out of it today because I felt like I was going to break something going into it.

All my other elements and step sequences had gone down without a hitch. Overall, I could've done better, but I was pleased by my performance and proud of myself. Now it was the off-season and I could relax a little, which I was very glad about.

I barely registered the knock on my door.

It was Lily.

My sister jumped onto the bed next to me. I was very grateful she was here. The first few competitions I'd done after our parents died had been incredibly nerve-wracking, I'd never not had my mum watching as I competed. Though not the same, having Lily was a comfort.

Lily put her arms around me. "How's my second favourite British Ladies' Singles skater?"

"Oh I don't know, let me go get Debbie." I tried to pull away from her but she held me back.

"You know you're my favourite in Ladies', Men's, Pairs and Ice Dance of any nationality, any level."

I laughed. "If you say so."

Lily fixed her piercing green eyes on me. "You know I'm unbelievably proud of you, though, right?"

I nodded slowly.

Lily reached across me to get my medal from the nightstand. She held it in her hand and looked at it carefully. "This is the culmination of all the hard work you've done this season. This is no easy feat, and I know this season hasn't been easy for you, but I don't want you to forget that you have a support system behind you all the time, me, Arnie, John, James. Mum and Dad were and would be so proud of you no matter what. They both wanted you to do what you love. Have no doubt in your mind that they're still watching every single one of your competitions and Dad is still shouting 'that's my daughter!' and Mum is still screeching from heaven."

Why was she getting all mushy?

We hugged. "I know." I reassured her.

I knew she was saying all of this though. Because around this time last year I'd thought about quitting. Our parents had just died, and I'd missed a lot of training. They had left us money, of course but not that much and skating was expensive. I felt bad about using up all our money on my skating.

When I'd told Lily I'd been thinking about quitting though, she had straight up told me that that wasn't happening. That as long as it was still my passion, and what I wanted, I would continue to skate. And she made it work. I don't know how, but Lily managed to make ends meet. Given, we weren't living lavish lives but we were holding up, and I was still skating.

"Thank you for being here." I muttered into Lily's shoulder.

"I will always be here."

* * *

My return to Hogwarts was a bit hectic. I had to catch up on everything I'd missed the past two weeks, and apparently a lot of people had questions about where I'd been.

At the moment I was stressed out about a Potions assignment and had just called Lily to get some help.

"But Lily, I just don't understand how am I supposed to know the effect of a bezoar on a potion? Literally how?" I complained.

"Read your textbook." Lily's voice came from the mirror.

I opened the door to the Potions classroom, and checked there was no one inside before going in. I knew I technically wasn't supposed to be here, but I needed somewhere I could talk to Lily and do my work peacefully. "Well this would certainly be far easier if I could actually do magic."

"You don't really need to do magic to do a potion." Lily reasoned.

"No, but I could break into Slughorn's supply and actually try this shit."

Lily sighed. "Even if you could do magic, you should not break into a teacher's anything." She paused. "Okay, I'm going to tell you the answer but just this time."

I sat up and cheered. I'd been trying to guilt her into telling me the answers this whole time.

I put the mirror down as Lily started rapidly dictating my essay, I scrambled to get a pen and started jotting down Lily's words messily.

As Lily finished I thought I heard a noise behind me, but I quickly looked around and found nothing. Was I imagining things now?

I put away my stuff. "Thanks, I'll talk to you later, babe." I said to Lily as I walked out of the classroom.

* * *

The halls of Hogwarts during the night felt like a different dimension. It was very quiet and it felt like the world was paused. I had considered missing practice altogether today, but I felt kind of bad about not having practiced the past couple of days.

I'd had a session with Vablatsky earlier, she hadn't been entirely pleased that I left almost right after doing my first reading, but we were making up time now. We were doing tea leaves now, and the professor believed we were on the brink of a breakthrough.

Then after the session Jem had come running to find me to tell me that Cristine was in the Hospital Wing. Cristine was one of the very few people who actually took History of Magic too. She was a good friend, so Jem and I had visited her in the Hospital Wing.

Apparently, Selwyn had a attacked her out of pretty much nowhere in the hallway. Just straight up called her a Mudblood and then hexed her. Cristine also said that Regulus had been there. He'd kind of tried to stop Selwyn, but failed, which, for some reason made me feel kind of guilty.

By the time Jem and I left the infirmary it was seven o'clock but I talked myself into changing and going down to my training room to practice for a couple of hours.

By the time I was walking back to the common room my mind was still on Cristine and how there were people here who just straight up attacked those they didn't believe were 'wizard enough'. Like I literally don't understand that logic.

As I approached the common room I saw a tall figure standing just off the side of the Runes classroom. I already knew who it was. He usually patrolled the part of the castle around where my training room was, and we usually talked a little when we ran into each other.

"So you're back." Regulus spoke first.

"Yeah." As much as I tried to deny it, his role in Cristine's attack was bothering me. And I was not the kind of person to pretend like everything was fine. "Regulus, we're friends, right?"

He looked startled at being called by his first name. He didn't answer.

I continued. "I mean, I feel like we're friendly. At least acquaintances." I took a breath. "No, you know what? I don't care how you see it, we're friends."

He didn't reply for a second, just looked at me with his calculating grey eyes. Then he said, "Okay."

"Right, and as much as your presence doesn't make me want to kill myself — ."

"High compliment." He put in.

I ignored him. "And I'm not accusing you of anything. But I could never be friends with a blood purist. And I know I'm being forward, but the fact that I don't know for sure, truly stresses the shit out of me. So I just need a yes or no answer. Are you a You-Know-Who supporter?"

Regulus looked around nervously, then he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a nearby broom closet.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked as he shut the door.

He ignored my question. "It's complicated."

"I don't think it's all that complicated. Do you discriminate people based on their blood status? Yes or no?"

He sighed, then folded his hands together as if in prayer and placed them over his mouth. "The short answer is no."

I let out a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding. Thank god. If we were in a different situation I probably would've made a fuss out of my relief, but I just said, "Okay."

"I know that this is about what happened with Barrymore. And I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help her." He said.

Wow, this was actually much more than what I expected to get out of him.

He sighed. "I'm going to tell you something that I've never said to anyone before. Please just listen. I'm telling you this because I trust you, I don't know why, but I do." The grey in his eyes seemed to soften, he looked more... human than I'd ever seen him under the weak light of the broom closet. I gave him a tiny nod to let him know I was listening. "The way I was raised — since I was born I was raised to believe that the more pure your blood was, the more worth you had as a person. That being a powerful wizard was the best thing you could ever aspire to be. So since I was a kid I looked up to the most powerful wizard I knew of, which was Lord Voldemort. As I grew older, my obsession with him grew, and I wanted to know every little detail about him because I wanted to be as powerful as him. And then I found out that Voldemort is a half-blood, which made me rethink the beliefs I'd had my whole life. How could the most powerful wizard be a half-blood? I thought the more pure your blood the more powerful you could be. It made no sense.

'So the only conclusion I could arrive to was that it didn't really matter after all, your blood didn't matter. But by the time I figured that out, I was in too deep, I was already set to become a Death Eater, so I told myself that I was only in it because of the Dark Lord, because he was still a very powerful wizard, and I still wanted to follow him.

'I'm not a Death Eater yet, I'm meant to become one right after graduation, and I was going to do it. But then something happened. Although I'm not a Death Eater, I've attended a few meetings. In one of those meetings, Voldemort asked if anyone had a house elf he could borrow, and I volunteered my family's elf, Kreacher. I didn't know what he wanted him for, but Kreacher was also a fan of the Dark Lord, so he was pleased to be of use for him. So I took Kreacher to the Dark Lord.

'It hasn't happened yet, but basically, Voldemort wants Kreacher to sacrifice himself for him when the time comes. I know you're not supposed to get attached to house elves, but Kreacher has been there my whole life, and he was the only friend I had after my brother left for Hogwarts. I can't let him die. This was sort of a wake up call for me, I knew before that I probably wouldn't be able to go through with becoming a Death Eater, but now I know for sure that I can't do it.

'The only slight problem with this is that you can't just cancel your Death Eater Membership, even if you're not fully in yet. If I go and tell them that I changed my mind about joining, they  _will_  kill me. So while I try to figure that out, I'm trying to just stay low."

He looked at me expectantly and I realised that he was done speaking.

I took a deep breath. "Well, that's — you're certainly in a pickle."

_Oh my god, Bow, this guy just basically told you his deepest darkest secret, and that's what you have to say?_

Regulus burst out laughing in a full belly laugh.

I looked at him startled. I'd never seen him look so... free before. I chuckled and let him laugh it out.

He recovered. "You could say that."

Something had shifted in his eyes, they looked softer than ever. It suited him.

Then I decided something. "I'm going to help you. You don't have to go through this alone. I promise I will help you in any way that I can."

"You don't have to — ."

"I know I don't have to, but you've made the right decision and no one else knows, so I'm going to give you the help you deserve. This is non-debatable."

Regulus let me have a tiny smile. "Thanks."

We stayed quiet before Regulus cleared his throat and said, "This is sort of awkward now, but before you started drilling me about whether I'm a Death Eater or not, I'd approached you to talk to you about something else."

"Oh. I'm sorry, what did you want to say?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Yesterday, I broke into Slughorn's Potions supply to get some ingredients for a potion I was making as an experiment, it doesn't matter. But as I was leaving, I heard the door to the Potions classroom opening." Oh no, oooh no. "I thought it was Slughorn so I disillusioned myself." He what? "But it was you, so I was going to reverse the charm when I heard you say something kind of odd. And I realise that it was wrong of me to eavesdrop but I just don't know how to interpret what I heard."

I tried hard to remember what I had said to Lily that day but I truly didn't remember at all. "Well, you know I say a lot of weird things."

"You said you couldn't do magic." Well, fuck.

I gaped at him. Oh god. I sighed and released the tension from my shoulders. "I'm only going to tell you this because I know for a fact that even if I don't tell you, you will figure it out eventually, also I'm in a secret-revealing mood. So, ready? I'm a Muggle."

Okay, yes, I know I really wasn't supposed to tell anyone this, but I had not been able to come up with a decent lie. And it felt very wrong to lie to him after he just practically bared his soul before me.

His eyes narrowed. "No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

He seemed to be in shock. "But you can't be."

"I think I would know."

He leaned back against the wall and brushed his hand through his hair. "But — you're a Seer. And when we flew together, you lifted the broom. And you go to the Hogwarts School of  _Witchcraft and Wizardry_."

"Yeah well, it's kind of complicated." I briefly explained how I'd ended up here.

Regulus was still processing. "Wow."

He slid down to sit on the floor.

I smiled sheepishly. "Yeah." I gingerly sat beside him with my knees pulled in. "So, do you hate me now?"

Regulus frowned. "Why would I hate you?"

"Because I lied to you. And don't most pureblooded wizards hate Muggles?"

Regulus scoffed. "Didn't I just tell you my sob story about how I discovered You-Know-Who's beliefs were wrong?"

I shrugged. "Well, you never said anything about Muggles."

"Well, I don't hate Muggles. But it's still a lot to process. I've never even heard of a Muggle attending Hogwarts. Much less a Muggle Seer."

He turned to look at me and I realised he had a tiny smile on his face. I was suddenly aware of how close we were to each other.

I cleared my throat. "I think it goes without saying that please don't tell anyone."

"Yeah same for you."

We stayed quiet for a moment and I started getting a little sleepy. I leaned my head carefully on his shoulder. "We're both messes, aren't we?"


	10. Why Did It Have to Be Me

Regulus didn't speak to me for the next couple of days, at first I just thought he needed little time to process everything we had talked about, but now I was starting to get worried he was actively avoiding me, so when I walked into the library today and saw him sitting all by himself, I made a beeline towards his table and sat right beside him.

He only half looked up from his book.

"Hey." I said.

"Hello." He tapped his foot against the leg of the table.

"Whatcha reading?" I asked.

" _A Potionmaking Guide for the Modern Wizard._ " He answered simply.

"Mm."

We stayed quiet for a few seconds, I set my bag on the table thinking I should actually do some homework before training, as I had been planning.

But just then, Regulus decided to speak up. "I was just thinking, though I do know more about you now, there's still a lot of mystery surrounding you."

"Come on, I'm the least mysterious person ever."

He ignored me. "Like where you were the last two weeks. And I know what you've been telling people is a lie."

I sighed. "Do you have to know  _all_  my secrets? Like, is that your job?"

He pushed his chair back. "Fine, don't tell me."

What a drama queen. I sighed. "I was in Vienna."

Regulus paused. "Oh?"

"I was competing. At a figure skating meet." I confessed.

Regulus frowned. He gaped at me, probably debating if I was telling the truth or not.

I reached for my bag. "You know my trusty bag, which I've never let you know the contents of? Well today's your lucky day."

I opened the zipper and revealed my skates.

Regulus finally found the words. "Well that was easier than I expected, also not what I expected."

"Yeah, it's not that big of a deal, I just don't like making a fuss about it. Only my friends know." I closed my bag again. "I was actually heading to practice right about now, if you want to come watch, so you know I'm not pulling your leg."

* * *

Regulus stared at me as I busied myself with tying my skates. As we walked over here I'd started questioning if it was a good idea bringing him. I could feel his poignant eyes on me, and I started sweating.

I cleared my throat and without taking my eyes off my laces I said, "Don't you want to get on the ice too?"

He remained seated on the stands above me. "I'd rather not."

I smiled innocently. "Why? Is it because as someone who practices a sport that requires little to no physical movement you don't think you'd be good at this?"

He scoffed. "It does require physical movement."

I cringed. "You could argue that Chasers and Beaters require some arm and core strength but Seekers, well, not so much. But alright, prove me wrong."

I grabbed a pair of skates I thought would fit him from beside the stands. They were actually Saf's skates, yes, she had huge feet. I set them down beside him and gave him a tiny smile.

Regulus stared at the dark boots for a few seconds, if I didn't know better I would say he looked slightly nervous. He scratched the back of his head. "I just, I've never..."

I raised an eyebrow. "You've never skated before?"

He shook his head.

"That's alright. I can't tell you if it's easy or not, I don't remember the first time I skated, I was four years old, but I can promise you that I won't make fun of you if you really suck, and I won't tell anyone." I tried to sound encouraging.

The Regulus looked down sheepishly. "Alright, but I'll hold you to that promise."

I took the pair of skates and handed them to Regulus. I could tell he was a little embarrassed. It was cute. I mean, in a platonic way.

I got on the ice and waited for Regulus to finish with his skates, as he was going at a snail's pace. I extended my hand for him to take but he just stared at it like it was the weirdest thing he had ever seen.

I rolled my eyes. "If you don't want to fall, take my hand."

And he finally did. His skin was cold, his long fingers settled on a not to tight grip, and I tried not to focus on the feeling of his palm on mine. But it was hard.

Regulus let out a "Merlin's beard" as he got on the ice. His grip on my hand tightened just a little bit. He tried to seem nonchalant as he held on to the barrier and tried his hardest not to move. "You can go do your thing, you said you had to practice, right?"

Was he seriously planning to stay there the whole time? Why are men like this? Well, he could have it his way.

I skated off, leaving Regulus by himself. I did a few warm up exercises and then a few laps around the ice, while Regulus just watched. After doing some spins, I decided to do what everyone always waited for, the jumps.

I'm not saying I wanted to impress Regulus a little, but he was such a smug little shit, and skating was the only thing I knew how to do, okay? So I did my triple Axel. I know, I know, it's not a jump I did in competition and would probably never do in competition, but I'd practiced it before, and I'd landed it. And maybe I should've done it with a harness but I landed it this time, so everything was fine, okay? Stop judging me, no one got hurt. In my opinion, it was pretty huge, so I was very pleased.

I did a few other triples and some triple-double combos. My favourite jump combo I would say though, was 3Lz-3T – triple Lutz-triple toe loop –. My landing of said jump was wobbly though, I tried to hold on to the landing, but I ended up falling down. Motherfucker.

I quickly got up but not before I heard Regulus call out my name. He tried to skate over to me but immediately realised he couldn't and stopped, bending his knees to try to regain his balance.

"Stay there, I'm fine." I skated over to him. My mind just could not get over the fact that he'd called my by my first name for the first time. Wait, now that we were technically friends, should I tell him to call me Rainbow? Ugh, I'd deal with it later.

I offered my hand again, and Regulus took it without a protest. "Come, let's just skate along the barrier, we'll go slow."

Regulus agreed and we took off. But he was definitely not a natural when it came to skating.

"Okay, wait. You're trying to walk, and that is not going to work, skating is not like walking. You have to lift your feet and push your legs forward but don't push back, just put one foot in front of the other, the blades will do the rest of the work." I tried my hardest to explain and demonstrate.

He seemed to catch my drift but still struggled. I did have to admit that I was probably smiling like a maniac watching him, but at least he was so focused on his feet that he didn't look at me. I taught him how to do a swizzle — which is a basic move you learn when you start skating — next and he seemed to get a lot better with that, though he was still holding my hand for dear life.

"You're doing pretty well." I tried to lift his spirits.

"Really?"

"No, you're kind of really bad, I was just trying to make you feel better about it."

He directed a small glare towards me.

I took both his hands in mine and finally got him to let go of the barrier. He was still pretty stiff. So, I let him go. And he fell on his arse.

I held in a giggle as I offered him my hand. "Are you okay?"

He took my hand and got up. He dusted himself off. "I'm fine. Are  _you_  okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well judging by how much that hurt, I'm assuming your fall from earlier hurt about a thousand times more." His hand rubbed his thigh.

I laughed.

"It did hurt, but I'm used to falling once in a while, it's nothing I can't handle. I've had worse falls."

"It still seemed like a nasty fall."

I blushed at this sudden attention to my well being. What the hell was he doing?

I shook my head. "It was my fault either way. I shouldn't have done a triple Lutz-triple toe, it isn't my strong suit."

Regulus's eyes narrowed. "A what?"

Ugh right, wizards really had no fucking idea about skating, at least Muggles knew there were different types of jumps. "Triple Lutz-triple toe loop. There's six different jumps that you can do in competition, and that's one of the combinations I do, a Lutz immediately followed by a toe loop, both triple, which means that I do three rotations in the air before landing." I explained.

"So you mean to tell me, all those jumps you did just now were different?"

I guffawed. "Uh yeah." I took his hand. "Come on, I'll show you."

* * *

Though I enjoyed all my classes at Hogwarts, the only one I could say I was actually good at was music class. It was also the only class where I liked every single person who attended.

When I'd started the semester, our teacher, Professor Higuchi, had informed me that at some point later we'd start putting on performances for the rest of the school, the rest of my classmates already knew this, so it was a bit of a surprise when the time finally came to start organising our performances, only Tessa and I volunteered.

Professor Higuchi had seemed disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm, which made me upset towards the rest of my classmates, I never wanted to see the look of disappointment in that tiny elderly Japanese man's face ever again, how dare they?

So now I sat nervously at the Gryffindor table along with a few of my music class mates. I was surprised none of the Gryffindors had come to crucify me yet, though I had gotten a few nasty looks. This was not a  _big_  performance per se, but I still got the pre-show jitters, the performance was right during lunch, so I felt like everyone would just ignore us.

I was deep in thought while we all waited eating lunch, it wasn't until I heard Professor Dumbledore go up to the his announcement stand that I finally reacted. I looked around to the rest of the Hall, I would say the vast majority of the school was there. I glanced towards the Slytherin table only to meet the gaze of one Regulus Black, it seemed like he'd been looking around the hall. I smiled at him.

Wait, had he been looking for me? Were we eating lunch together kind of friends now? Oh my god. I had the sudden urge to forgo my music mates and run to sit with him. But I quickly shot myself down. That was stupid, I could sit with him another day, I should calm down.

Dan nudged me just in time for me to hear Professor Dumbledore call out our names. We got up. Dan Bloom was a cool Gryffindor boy, he was a Muggleborn, and he played guitar extremely well, he was also a pretty good singer but he was a bit coy about that skill of his, I really liked performing with him. He had this sort of Bob Dylan-rocker vibe, and once we'd discovered he actually had some moves, he also seemed to have a bit of Danny Zuko in him.

Since this wasn't a  _big_  performance, our outfits were pretty simple, just some summer-y ensembles, which I loved.

" _When you were lonely, you needed a man_

_Someone to lean on, well I understand_

_It's only natural_

_But why did it have to be me?_

_Nights can be empty, and nights can be cold_

_So you were looking for someone to hold_

_That's only natural_

_But why did it have to be me?"_

Dan sang to me, and I had to admit, it did give me a few butterflies in my stomach. I smiled before starting to sing.

" _I was so lonesome, I was blue_

_I couldn't help it, it had to be you and I_

_Always thought you knew the reason why."_

I must've seemed a little flustered as Dan pulled me close, but he was just so... tall. I think he was even taller than Reg.

" _Falling in love with a woman like you_

_Happens so quickly, there's nothing to do_

_It's only natural_

_But why did it have to be me?_ "

To my relief, the crowd seemed to actually be paying attention to us, but I tried not to pay much attention to them, just so I could stay focused. That was the worst thing about day performances, you could always see pretty much everyone in the audience.

_"I only wanted a little love affair_

_Now I can see you are beginning to care_

_But baby, believe me_

_It's better to forget me."_

Claps erupted in the Hall as Dan and I took our ending pose. This part just reminded me of my skating programs, when I also took my final pose. Though this would be more of a pairs or ice dance thing. Oh my god, someone should do an ice dancing program to this song, maybe I should switch to ice dance just so I could do this same performance on ice.

I quickly spotted my friends in the crowd, they were cheering the loudest. And next to them was Regulus who was not cheering at all, in fact, he had his jaw clenched tightly, and had a gloomy look on his face that had not been directed towards me in a while. My heart sank.

I tried not to think about him as Dan and I took a bow (which I'd forced him to include, it was rude not to take a bow) and walked offstage. But it was hard, I mean, I was meant to go back to the Slytherin table now, and for some reason Saf and Bella were sat almost next to him.

Saf and Bella immediately jumped on me to congratulate me, which was a good distraction, but then Bella leaned in close to me and whispered, "He came to ask us why you were sitting at the Gryffindor table and then said he'd wait for you to come back."

I think I knew who she meant.

I sat down next to Regulus, who seemed to be avoiding my eyes. "So um, did you like the performance?" I asked gingerly.

He still didn't look at me as he shrugged. "I guess it was alright, I mean you and Bloom..."

He seemed to drift off, as if he didn't quite know what to say.

"Yeah, he's great, he's a really uh an excellent performer." I said.

I could see the muscles in his jaw clench. He cleared his throat. "Sure, okay, I have to go now."

Before I could get another word in, Regulus stood up abruptly and left the Hall altogether.

Was he mad at me for something? Ugh, I truly did not understand that boy sometimes, or most times to be honest.


	11. Yellow Flowers

I stood outside of the shady pub called the Hog's Head, nervously bouncing on the balls of my feet. I was very alert of my surroundings, just waiting for him to arrive, but he hadn't just yet.

I'd been pleasantly surprised when I'd gotten Reg's note at breakfast this morning, his elegant scrawl was simple and to the point.

_Daisy,_

_Will you please meet me outside the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade, at 2 o'clock today?_

_Sincerely,_

_R.B._

I'd then spent more time than I'd like to admit analysing the note.

First, he had called me Daisy, which was only the third time he'd called me by my first name (yes, I'd been counting), but seeing it on paper made me decide that it was most definitely time to tell him to just call me Rainbow.

Second, when I'd recieved the note I had no idea what in the hell the Hog's Head was, but after some asking around I was told it was a pub on the outskirts of Hogsmeade that not many students frequented.

Third, the thing I'd been pondering the longest, the subtext of the note. Was this a date? People who asked other people to go to Hogsmeade meant it as a date. But he hadn't technically asked me to Hogsmeade, he'd just asked me to meet him there. At first I'd assumed it was to hang out but there could be several reasons why he'd want to meet. Right?

I'd actually already planned to visit a few spots in the village with the girls a few days prior, I'd been kind of looking forward to it. So it genuinely scared me how I was so quick to decide to ditch them to meet Regulus.

I saw a figure approach the bar, and I quickly realised it was Regulus. Finally.

"You're early." I said.

He turned to look at me, a bit of shock in his face. "You came?"

"Of course I came, you asked me to come."

The cold made the blush creeping up his cheek all the more obvious. "Yeah, I mean, I just - have you been here long?"

I looked at my feet. "Not really, five to ten minutes or so."

He gave me a look I didn't quite know how to describe, but it made the butterflies in my stomach riot. "So you got here half an hour early?"

I scoffed. "I wanted to make sure I got the right place, I'm new around here, remember?"

He smiled. "Sure."

I changed the subject. "What'd you want to see me for anyway?"

"Well, as has always been our unspoken agreement, it's not a good idea to be too friendly around school, and I happen to know a side of Hogsmeade that no other students frequent, I figured you might want to come with me. I mean, if you want, of course."

I smiled. "Why that's very thoughtful of you. I'd love to accompany you on this fine evening."

I took the arm Regulus offered and we went off down the street.

The deeper into town we walked, all I could see really were houses, the most curious wizard houses, many of which defied the laws of gravity.

"This part of town is mostly the houses of the wizards that actually live here, but further away there's a little market I think you'll like." Regulus explained.

I nodded. "You know, even though I've known about magic for almost eight years now, it still amazes me every day. Especially now that I'm in magic school."

I greeted a few witches that were sitting on their porches, two sets of wool scarfs knitting themselves in their laps.

"I've actually been meaning to ask you about how your whole Muggle at Hogwarts situation came about. You said you've known about magic for eight years." Regulus said, in the softest voice I'd ever heard him use.

I stayed quiet for a few seconds while my brain reeled. Was I seriously going to tell Regulus Black of all people all my secrets? Was I really thinking this through?

I stopped in my tracks, holding Regulus back by the arm.

He looked at me in confusion. Looking into his beautiful grey eyes, I knew I wanted nothing to ever jeopardise my relationship with him. God, I really was a goner, wasn't I?

We had stopped outside a cute little house, with a white framed window decorated with a few flower pots. There was a small garden right next to the wall, with a lot of plants I was sure had magical origins.

I stared at one specific yellow flower that looked like a daisy, but the centre had a dim amber glow, that rang along down the stem. "There's something else I should tell you."

Regulus stayed quiet but I could feel his gaze on me.

I took a breath. "I – do you remember... a girl called Lily Evans, who graduated last year?"

I turned to Reg to see him frowning. "Uh yeah, sure. She was friends with my brother, girlfriend of one of the guys in his little friend group, if I remember correctly."

I looked at the yellow flower again. "Yes, and she's also a muggleborn, and very involved in the fight against Voldemort."

He cringed at the name, but nodded. "Yeah, she's been mentioned in a few Death Eater meetings, I believe.

Oh, that information was so not necessary, I got a chill. "Uh well, she's my sister."

Regulus frowned. "Your sister?"

"Yes. My name is Daisy Evans, not Edwards."

"Huh."

"I found out about magic when I was ten, and Lily went to Hogwarts. She's always known about my Seer abilities, but it didn't occur to her until last year that they might have to do with magic and divination, so she told Professor Vablatsky about me, and she was really interested and wanted to run some tests and teach me to channel my abilities, so here I am." I ranted.

Regulus seemed to be taking it all in. "Uh alright. Compared to the other stuff, I'd say that's kind of less of a shock. I mean, I get why you kept it a secret."

"It was Dumbledore's suggestion, actually." I thought for another second. "There's one small thing you should probably know too."

He looked at me expectantly.

I bit my lip. "I'm kind of... friends with your brother."

Regulus's eyes widened. I think this was the reveal I'd seen him the most shocked in. "What?" He almost sounded scared.

"I mean, we're not like  _close_  friends or anything, I mean, we're  _friendly_. I mean, we're maybe a little closer than one would be with your sister's boyfriend's best friend, but that's because James and him are practically attached at the hip, and they actually live in the same building as Lily and I, so we're neighbours too." I ranted, again.

Regulus still looked shocked. "Oh god."

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't actually know anything about you before coming here, I only knew Sirius  _had_  a brother."

Reg exhaled slowly, rubbed the back of his neck and turned away from me. "Have you talked to him lately?"

I avoided his eyes. "I – exchanged a couple of letters with him since coming to Hogwarts, and you remember that competition I went to a couple of weeks ago? James was supposed to come with us, but he wasn't able to in the end, so Sirius volunteered to come."

"So you saw him last week."

I nodded.

I could almost hear the gears in Reg's brain turning, before the crease between his brows slowly ceded. He sighed. "Alright."

He then turned back on the path, and offered his arm, which I gingerly took, and he walked me away from the yellow flower.

* * *

The next few minutes of our trek were quieter, I looked at all the quirky little houses more carefully, my favourite part about Hogsmeade was that it was fully a wizard town, so people did not bother at all hiding their magic. We passed a house were the garden was being watered by a floating water hose, another one where a toddler was zooming around on a tiny broom a few centimetres off the ground. It all made the place feel so alive.

Finally we arrived to a two storey building with large arches but no sort of markings indicating the name or any information about the place.

"There's all sort of food and stuff here they don't sell uptown, I'm sure you'll love it." Regulus said.

I instinctively snuggled closer to his side as a draft of wind blew past us.

We walked into the market to a very lively but also somehow chill scene. The place was filled with stands selling every product from odd food to beauty products. I immediately wanted to stop by every single stand, but I knew it would probably take more than a while.

So I pulled Regulus along to the place that had instantly captured my attention.

A witch that seemed to be in her thirties sat behind a very pink, very girly set up, and no kidding, she was probably the prettiest person I had ever seen, her hair was done to perfection, her outfit perfectly matched and even her skin seemed to have this glow about it.

I tried not to stare at the woman as I looked at the products laid out.

"See anything you like, hon?" The witch asked.

Look, I knew she was much older than me, but I still blushed. "Um, that hairbrush's pretty nice."

I pointed to a gold rimmed brush, with very soft looking white strands.

The woman smiled widely. "Oh that one's a popular one! It doesn't just untangle your hair, but it also washes it!"

My eyes widened. "Wow, that's awesome! Did you make that yourself?"

"Yes! I make all my products, that's why they're all guaranteed to work."

We chatted about some of the other products, and before I knew it I spent the majority of my money at the witch whose name I found out was Karyn's stand. But I can't be blamed for it, some of her stuff was really unbelievable, and I'm just a simple impressionable Muggle. Plus she had really great deals.

So I was now the proud owner of a magic hairbrush, an original Karyn Lipstick (which left absolutely no transfer and lasted a full twelve hours), nail polish that didn't chip, and eye drops that made your eyes change colour (that one was just for fun). And Karyn had just finished putting some sort of fake individual eyelashes on me, that supposedly would not fall off in six months.

I said goodbye to Karyn before Regulus dragged me away. "Alright, let's go see something you like now."

Regulus seemed a bit surprised at the request but wordlessly led me a few metres away to a stand filled with secondhand books.

"Oh. What kind of books do they sell here?" I asked Reg.

"All kinds. I've bought a few about potions that I'd never even heard of before. They also have a few Muggle books." Regulus looked through a nearby pile of books.

My brows raised. "And have you bought some of those Muggle books?"

His head tilted. "Uh yeah."

I smiled. "Ooh, like?"

He shrugged. "Mostly what Mr Urquhart recommends, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë."

I gaped at him. "You've read Charlotte Brontë?"

He gave a small nod and shrugged.

I grinned and started going through books. The man I assumed to be Mr Urquhart was sitting behind the piles of books, his head buried in his own book.

"Oh my god." I grabbed a book from the pile. "You  _have_  to read this one."

I shoved the paperback into Regulus's chest. Which he took and examined. " _A Hundred Years of Solitude_."

I nodded enthusiastically. "Gabo is one of my favourites. I'd never seen this edition before, it's really nice."

"So why don't  _you_  get it?"

I chuckled under my breath. "Oh no offence to monolinguals, but I'd rather claw my own eyes out than read  _this_  book in English."

Regulus gave me a look. "Well that seems to be a little excessive." He flipped through the first few pages. "Wait, so you can read Spanish?"

"Uh huh."

He frowned. "Why?"

I shrugged. "Well, when I was a kid we had this neighbour who spoke Spanish, and my parents think that somehow I started picking it up from her, and by the time I was five I could understand it pretty well but couldn't speak it, so they figured if I already knew it halfway, I might as well learn it all the way, so they got my neighbour to teach me. While trying to learn more vocabulary when I was like twelve, I read a lot of books in Spanish, and I still do, and that one is one of my favourites."

Regulus's eyebrows raised. "I feel like I will never stop learning facts about you that I never saw coming."

I laughed. "Oh come on, you'll catch up eventually."

Regulus bought the book, and I got a few about magic history too.

Our next stop included food, which made me happy.

Sugar butterflies flew around the crates filled with all kinds of sweet treats. I tried to restrain myself from buying one of everything, but it was hard. I got some sweets that I'd never even seen in Honeydukes, I was then informed that all of these were homemade by a few of the local ladies.

"Oh I really want to get some butterflies, but I'm going to be absolutely out of money." I complained to Reg.

Regulus rolled his eyes (which made me realise that he actually hadn't done that in a while). "Can we get a pound of the sugar butterflies?" He said to the seller.

Regulus paid for the butterflies and handed them to me.

I said thanks and we went on our way.

The very last thing I bought was a small rock that glowed even in instant darkness powder, so, unless I somehow encountered said powder, it was basically a flashlight. Regulus tried to talk me out of it, but I was attracted to things that were pretty and shiny, so I didn't know what he wanted me to do,  _not_  buy it?

I finally told Reg that we had to leave immediately because I literally had no money left and I'd just be sad if I looked at more stuff.

So he carted me out of the place but not before right by the exit I saw a flower stand and stopped him.

All the flowers were incredibly beautiful and unique, but the ones that called my attention were the yellow flowers that looked exactly like the one I'd seen earlier.

"Those are the flowers you were looking at earlier." Regulus must've noticed me staring at them.

I delicately touched a petal, and I could swear it moved in my hand. I never thought I'd be so moved by a flower. "Yes."

I turned to the sixty something year old lady who was minding the place. "Excuse me, does this flower have magical properties?"

"Yes, dear. It has some healing properties, and is great for relaxation purposes." The lady replied.

That sounded like – "Regulus, why didn't you tell me they had the good kush in this place? I said to Reg, stiffling a giggle.

"What?"

I shook my head, still smiling. "Nothing. Let's go."

But Regulus didn't move. He turned to the lady and said. "Can we get a dozen, please?"

I gaped at him. What was he doing? "Reg, you don't have to – "

The woman wrapped the flowers in some lovely paper and handed them to me with a sweet smile as Regulus paid. The woman turned to me. "Can I just say, you two make a lovely couple. It's nice to see young love is still chivalrous and sweet."

I smiled. "Thanks."

Regulus blushed hard beside me, but stayed quiet.

And we finally walked out of the market.

* * *

At first I thought spending Easter at Hogwarts would give me a chance to chill and do fun stuff with my friends, but by the third day it was proving to be nothing but work.

The girls and I had decided that we should finish our class assignments first before we did anything else. So we'd spent the past few days holed up in the library trying to finish.

"Hey Jem." Nat's voice distracted me from my potions assignment.

Jem had just approached our table and sat down.

"What are you doing here? You hate working with us." Saf said.

"Well, I was in my dorm but Regulus came in in a rage, just muttering about stuff and basically on the verge of a mental breakdown, so I figured I should leave him alone to cool off for a bit." Jem explained.

_What?_  What happened to him? I wanted to ask Jem so bad, but I knew I would raise suspicion, I also knew that if I immediately had to leave I would raise a few questions. So I waited a few  _long_  minutes, before making an excuse about having to talk to my sister and bolted.

I'd never been in the boys' dorm room before. My closest male friend in school was Regulus, and god knows he'd never invited me up there before. But I knew girls were allowed there, and all the doors were clearly labeled, so it wasn't too hard to find the seventh year boys room.

I gave a few short knocks on the door. After some shuffling the door clicked open just a little bit, once he saw it was me, he opened it a tad more.

"What do you want?" His cold tone wasn't up to his usual standards of cold.

I frowned at his puffy eyes. "Are you okay?"

He moved aside to let me in and turned away from me. "Jem said something, didn't he? That little fucker."

I closed the door behind me. "You know he has good intentions."

Regulus plopped down onto his bed, and I had a feeling he'd been in that same position before I came here. His place was a bit messy, a couple of clothes strewn about, and he none of his decor gave any indication about who occupied that space.

All the other spots were far messier than Reg's, only one was completely neat and I would bet money it was Jem's.

I sat on the bed beside Regulus, his back turned to me. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Regulus sighed deeply. "A couple of days ago I sent my mother a letter where I said I was thinking about not joining the Death Eaters, I'm not sure why, I don't know what I was expecting." He held his pillow to his chest very tightly. "She wrote back today, and she said that if I didn't join the Dark Lord, she would disown me and if I ever said something like that again, she would kill Kreacher, I know she can't, he's under strict instructions to immediately Apparate to my side if she ever tries something, but it's still a scary thought. I'm just so frustrated, and scared. I've always gone along with the whole blood supremacy thing because I didn't want to disappoint my parents, and as much as I wish I didn't care anymore, I still don't want to disappoint them. But now I don't want to disappoint you, or Sirius, even though I've already fucked it up with him. I just wish I were as strong as him. But I just feel like I can't do this."

I released a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding. I gingerly put my hand on his arm and he almost immediately covered it with his own hand. "We're going to get through this, I swear. I will always be here for you, no matter what."

I couldn't see his face, but I heard some sniffling going on. Was he crying? Oh no, if he cried, I would most definitely cry too.

I looked over a little bit, silent tears were streaming down his face.

I tried to hold back a choked breath, but for the life of me, I couldn't. I could feel my eyes brimming with tears.

Regulus looked over at me. "Are you crying?"

"I'm sorry, I just – whenever I see someone I care about cry, I get really upset and I cry too." I tried to explain in my choked voice.

"Well, stop. I don't want you to cry because of me." He insisted.

"And I don't want you to cry at all."

Regulus turned his body towards me, and I finally laid down on my side, beside him.

I managed to control my tears a little bit and took a deep breath and tried to speak in my most confident voice. "Reg, I promise you, everything will be fine." I placed my hand on his sharp jaw. "Fighting for what you believe in will always bring you good karma. You are smart and strong and good, and no one can ever take that from you. Whatever happens, your family will still love you, and I... will be here."

Regulus nodded slowly. I hugged him, and he held on to me as if he was scared I'd disappear any second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's read this dumpster fire of a fic.


	12. Engagements & Birthdays

"ADFGHSKDFHDJFHJDS." Was all I could make out of the screeches coming out of my sister's mouth.

Lily's grin could almost be felt through our two way mirror. It genuinely made me really happy to see her this happy.

"Lily, breathe!"

Her smile showed no signs of fading any time soon. "I'm sorry, I'm just so happy!"

I chuckled. "I'm happy too! But you know, Tuney's going to take it as a personal attack that you're going to be engaged at the same time."

Lily's smile faded just the tiniest little bit. "I guess, but her wedding's definitely going to be before mine, James and I probably won't start planning for a while, we're both super busy right now."

"I know, that's why I thought he wouldn't do it until June, as planned."

Lily narrowed her eyes at me. "Wait, you knew about this?"

I shrugged. "Well, not this specifically, but I did know he was planning on proposing. I knew he wouldn't resist until June though."

Lily laughed louder than usual. "Oh my god it was so cute and so spontaneous, did I tell you how cute it was?"

"Yes, you told me."

"I'd literally been teasing him about how he couldn't surprise me anymore all week." Lily gushed.

"I know, I know, James is the best ever."

"While we're on the subject, there's a lot of cute guys at Hogwarts, I literally don't believe no one's asked you to Hogsmeade yet."

I looked away from Lily, and hoped she couldn't see my ears going a deep red in the dim lighting of my dorm. "Well, you better believe it, 'cause no one's asked me anywhere. I think I scare the men here."

"Probably, since men are so stupid." Lily said with a little huff. "I really wish you were here. So we could celebrate together."

I smiled at her. "Yeah, me too. But you still have Mary and Mel to celebrate. Have you told them yet?"

"No! I wanted to tell you first. But I'll probably tell them later today. By the way, does it seem like Vablatsky's planning on releasing you from duty any time soon?"

I sighed. "I...'m not sure. I mean, we  _are_  making progress. I don't get as many random visions anymore, and I've been using all the Seer stuff pretty well. The other day Dumbledore sat in with us, and the only thing I could predict was that someone would give him woolen socks for Christmas."

Lily laughed.

I frowned. "It's  _not_  funny. What kind of vision is that?"

"Dumbledore's odd like that, he was probably glad you saw that." Lily tried to comfort me.

"Actually, yes, he was oddly pleased, but I thought he was just trying to make me feel better."

I heard some shouting from Lily's end, but couldn't detect where it came from. Lily turned away for a second, before turning back to me. "Bow, babe, I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, bye, I love you."

"Love you, too." Then she hung up.

I let my smile falter as I laid back on my bed. Thinking about Lily getting married was so surreal. I mean, she was only a year older than me, 19-years-old, and she going to be someone's wife, she was going to have a husband. She'd only been with James for about a year, but that's not really something I was worried about, since they started dating, both Lily and I had an unspoken feeling that he was the one.

I'd thought all this through before, when James told me he was planning on asking Lily to marry him. But now that it was actually happening, it made me think again. This would mean I'd have to live alone, which was fine, I was eighteen (in a few days), but there truly wouldn't be an Evans household I could go back to now. Huh. This would be fucking weird getting used to.

* * *

One of the worst rues of my sport, my beautiful, lovely amazing sport that I adored, was the music. Don't get me wrong, I loved music, and I loved being able to have music be such a big part of my skating, but the strictness of it was what bothered me.

I knew a lot of the rules in figure skating were old fashioned, but the fact that they didn't allow music with lyrics just limited skaters so much. As much as I did love classical music, there were so many lyrical songs I would've loved to skate to. I could rant about this for hours, to be honest, it frustrated me so much.

In fact, as my mind momentarily reeled thinking about this, I lost focus and popped my Axel — meaning I'd gone to do a double Axel but only completed one rotation — which made me stop for a second.

"RAINBOW!"

I turned, startled, to see Nat and Tessa coming into the room.

I rushed over to turn the music down. "What's up y'all?"

"We've been looking all over for you." Nat exclaimed as they approached the barrier. "Why are you here so early? You said you'd be taking it easy now the season's over."

"I am, I just wanted to get ahead in choosing new programs, I'm just getting some inspiration." I tried to catch my breath, I'd been skating non-stop longer than I thought.

"Oh have you picked? I wanna know, how do you pick, I want to help!" Nat jumped up and down.

"I haven't chosen yet, I can't choose until I see my choreographer, my problem is I only like music with lyrics."

Nat gasped dramatically. "You can't use music with lyrics? What the hell?"

I sighed. "Yeah, I've been complaining about it since forever."

"Anyway," Tessa leaned against the barrier. "We would like to know  _why on earth did you not tell us it's your birthday today?_ "

I looked down and shrugged. "I dunno, it didn't come up."

"Well, you're not getting away from us." Nat jumped onto the boards and threw her arms around me. "Happy birthday!"

I took a few steps back to regain my balance and put my arms around Nat's torso. Nat crawled over the barrier and joined the ice with me.

Tessa quickly jumped over the barrier too, and tore Nat off of me to hug me herself. " _Felicidades, baby_!"

I smiled. "Thanks, you guys."

"Now get those skates off 'cause we gotta party!" Nat exclaimed.

My eyes widened. "What?"

And with that my friends dragged me off the ice. I took off my skates and quickly gathered my things, rushing after the girls.

"What are we doing?" I asked my friends as they led me to — I believed — the Slytherin common room.

"It's just going to be a harmless little outing." Nat replied with a cheeky little smile. "And don't think Bella's not pissed you let her go to Italy with her parents during your birthday."

"Her grandma's ill, it's not like I could just ask her to stay behind." I defended myself.

I gave the password for the common room and Nat and Tessa followed me in. And the only person in the room just so happened to be Regulus.

"Hey, Reg." I said to him.

He seemed pleased to see me for a split second, then he looked over worriedly at Nat and Tess. They didn't really know what the extent of Reg and I's relationship, but they knew we were friends.

Nat got a look in her eye I didn't quite trust. "Why don't you go upstairs and change? We'll wait for you here."

I frowned. "Why don't you come up? I'm pretty sure it's empty."

Nat smiled innocently. "We'll be fine here, you won't take long, will you?"

I raised a brow. "Uh, I don't want to leave you here  _exposed_  though."

"Most people are gone for Easter, it'll be fine, just go." Nat urged me.

So I went. Leaving Nat and Tessa to take a seat on the loveseat next to where Reg was sitting.

* * *

"Greetings, earthlings, and welcome to Bow's last minute impromptu birthday celebration, put together by yours truly." Safety greeted us at a very cute setup by the Black Lake.

A fairly big, blue picnic blanket was laid out, almost completely covered with food, and a significant pile of presents on the corner.

I smiled. "Oh my god, this is so cute, you guys."

Saf extended her arm. "Well, sit, sit. It is time for some food and some presents."

I happily obliged. "Yeah, where did  _those_  come from?"

"About five or six arrived for you at breakfast; but since you left before the mail, we picked them up for you." Tessa explained. "And even though we had no time to get you a present, we managed to throw some stuff together."

"Oh. Thanks."

Saf pushed over four boxes to me. "I think these are from your sister, the owl that carried them looked like it was about to pass out from exhaustion."

I took the letter attached to one of them. Lily had already called to wish me happy birthday early in the morning, but I guessed she sent an extra birthday message.

_Dearest Bow,_

_Happy birthday! I miss you lots, so I wanted to go all out on your gifts this year. I painted the boots myself, so you better like them, and I know they're no good for competition but I thought you could attach wheels to them and use them as roller skates, since you like it, and that way they'll last longer. The other two presents are pretty self explanatory, I think._

_As you might have guessed, one of your other presents is from Sabrina, and the other one is from our lovely sister, Petunia. Yes, she got you a present. I'm not sure if she knows you're at Hogwarts since she never responds to my letters, but I figured she'd appreciate it if I got it to you._

_Love you lots,_

_Lily_

It was then I realised I was probably supposed to read the letter  _after_  opening Lily's presents, but I'd already spoiled one of my presents, no going back now.

So I opened the bigger box first. Which was the skating boots. They had a beautiful picture on them, it looked kind of like the starry night, I couldn't wait to wear them. But since she'd only sent the boots I'd have to go and get either the blades or wheels attached myself. I'd probably get wheels, Lily made some good points.

The next one was a smaller box, which contained a beautiful silver bracelet with five charms attached to it, all shaped like flowers. There was a lily, a daisy, a petunia, a rose and an anemone (which my dad had once decided was his flower, since he was the only one who didn't have a flower name). It actually made me feel real mushy inside, and slightly sad that the five of us would never be together again, and not even of the three of us left, we couldn't gather more than two at a time.

The girls gushed looking at the bracelet but I just shook my head and moved on to the next one. Which was a bunch of Muggle snacks I'd been craving since I got to Hogwarts. Lily truly knew me best.

Sabrina was the only friend I'd actually managed to keep in touch with in the Muggle world after my parents died and I'd moved to London, we didn't really talk on a regular basis but we knew we could rely on each other. She'd given me a cute little journal.

Petunia's present made me nervous. I wasn't in the friendliest of terms with her, but I knew she didn't resent me quite as much as she did Lily. The box she sent was really small, and she sent no note more than a to and from card. It was earrings. Daisy earrings, which, believe it or not, I'd gathered a significant collection of through the years. But what really struck me was the fact that these weren't your typical commom daisy (a type of daisy I liked) earrings, they were red bellis daisy (which was my favourite kind of daisy) earrings — how she got them I had no idea —, but it said a lot to me.

As I passed the presents for the girls to see, a quick peek into two gift bags revealed Muggle stationary and sweets from James and friends.

"Time for ours now!" Nat clapped her hands excitedly as she handed me a small pink box.

Inside there was a full, monogrammed deck of beautiful tarot cards.

"I figured, since you like divination so much, and you're so good at it." Nat quickly explained.

"Thanks, Nat, my very first deck of tarot cards." I replied.

Nat gasped softly. "Oh god, really?"

I nodded, as Tessa handed me a simply wrapped that looked suspiciously like a book. And it was.

"Oh my god, my fave." I turned the book over, it looked used. I frantically turned the first page and did a double take. "Wait. Is this – is this a first edition?"

Tessa smiled and nodded. " _Pues dijiste que Pedro Páramo era tu libro favorito y que te molan los libros antiguos, y mis padres tienen varios contactos en el mundo editorial, así que_."  _Well, you said Pedro Páramo was your favourite book, and my parents have some contacts in the editorial world, so._

" _Ay no, que rifada. Me encanta_." _Oh god, you're the best. I love it._  I hugged her briefly.

"Alright, calm down y'all or I'll start speaking in Urdu." Saf pulled us apart and handed me her gift.

More thank yous flew around as I discovered that Saf had gotten me ABBA's new record, which was not supposed to come out in two weeks, but she somehow got.

"You guys, if these are your last minute presents I can't wait to see your pre-thought presents."

* * *

Let me tell you sneaking into Hogsmeade was not a pretty affair, or a clean one. After climbing through a mirror on the fourth floor, we went on a long, dark, damp walk through a long corridor, which led to the cellar of the Three Broomsticks.

And it was upon our arrival at the Broomsticks that we found the place deserted, with all the chairs and tables pushed aside. But as I looked to my friends in confusion, I realised this was planned.

Nat's knowing smile did not confort me.

Saf then proceeded to pull out of god knows where, my roller skates. "Since we've discovered roller skating is your guilty pleasure, we are going to have," she paused for dramatic effect, "a roller dance party!"

The girls cheered. How in the hell did they find that out?

I sat to put on my roller skates, which looked exactly like my figure skates, except they had four wheels attached to them, instead of blades.

I looked up as I heard sounds of more people arriving. I let out a sigh of relief as I saw it was only a few relatively close friends, Jem, Cristine (from History), Sara (Nat's dormmate), Dan (from music class), and, to my surprise, it was Regulus who brought up the rear.

I tried to ease my face from my shocked look as Regulus practically made a beeline towards me.

"Happy birthday." He said.

I swallowed. "Thanks. They invited you while I changed, didn't they?"

He took a deep breath. "But not before asking what my intentions with you were." Oh god. "I think they were... satisfied with my answer."

I somehow both wanted to know exactly what went down in that conversation because it worried me, but I also  _didn't_  want to know because it worried me. So I settled for a quick nod. "Get your skates on, then."

I got up just as the music started blaring ABBA. Ugh, there's no dance party better than an ABBA dance party.

Saf skated over to me with a bit of a crazed look in her eye. "But this is a roller skating dance party with a twist," she yelled over the music.

It was then when some wet, gooey substance hit me from behind. "What the – ?"

The lights switched off, but a dim glow seemed to envelop the room.

"It's a blacklight roller skating dance party!" Nat finally burst, her hand slightly coated with a layer of some kind of fluorescent liquid.

And that's what got the party started. Soon enough everyone was covered in either really messy or really nice lines of fluorescent paint. And I gotta admit, it looked cool as shit. Also, everyone was a little drunk. I'd been trying to hold my alcohol though, partly because I wasn't much of a drinker, and partly because I really wanted to remember all of this down to the T. The only other person who seemed mildly sober was Regulus, but he seemed to be enjoying himself, he'd even let Nat paint a small design on his face, which somehow made him look about a hundred times hotter.

I went over to dance with Reg, if he was annoyed by my antics he didn't show it as I sang at the top of my lungs, dramatically dancing next to him. I might have been a little tipsy but I was definitely contact drunk. All the crazies around me made me feel like I  _really_  was drunk off my ass.

I felt so brave I even tried to do an Axel on my roller skates, but it did not turn out well, and I twisted my ankle and fell on my ass.

"Daisy, are you okay?" Regulus rushed to my side.

"I'm fine." I leaned on him to get up, but as I put my weight on my left foot, I instantly regretted it.

"Daisy, your foot, you can't get injured. Come on." Regulus put his arm around my waist and helped me skate outside, and I tried to calm my pounding heart.

Regulus helped me sit on the bench right outside the Broomsticks. I'd actually sobered up from my contact drunkness by the thought of injuring my foot, but the tipsiness remained.

I rolled my ankle a few times but it seemed a lot better than what I first thought. My bones had probably just moved wrong, but it seemed to be fixing itself.

I perked up as I heard the beginning notes of 'Andante, Andante' play from inside the café. "Oh my god, we have to go in."

Regulus held me back by the arm. "No, you're hurt, you have to take off the skates."

I huffed. "It's nothing, I swear, it only hurt for a little bit." I got up.

Regulus gave me a look. "Daisy – "

I frowned. "Don't call me that."

"What?"

"I assume by now you've noticed my close friends call me Rainbow or Bow, you can too, you know. I've just been forgetting to tell you."

Reg looked slightly shocked as he looked away from me and a slight blush crept up his cheek. "Alright...  _Rainbow_."

My insides suddenly turned into total mush and I struggled to stay standing. I stretched my arm towards Reg. "I'll stay out here, but we have to dance at least this song."

Reg took my hand and took a step towards me, the warmth of his body enveloped me. I did a few spins and turns because I really liked the way the skates made my dance moves all flowy.

' _I'm your music_  
 _I'm your song_  
 _Play me and time again_  
 _And make me strong_.'

I sang, stepping back closer to Reg as the music toned down. He slipped his arms around my waist, and I laced my fingers behind his neck as we swayed slowly.

' _There's a shimmer in your eyes_  
 _Like the feeling of a thousand butterflies_.'

I sang softly, looking directly into Reg's piercing grey eyes, which honestly made me feel like I was going to pass out any second. I couldn't help but lean into him, almost as if I was trying to get a closer look at his eyes.

' _Andante, andante_  
 _Tread lightly on my ground_  
 _Andante, andante_  
 _Oh please don't let me down_.'

My body felt like it was burning up as our embrace somehow brought us even closer. Our noses were almost touching. I'd never seen his eyes look so soft, I couldn't look away. His grip on my waist was tight but he brought one hand up to caress my jaw with his thumb delicately.

I couldn't even tell what music was playing now as our breath started mixing together. I held my breath as his soft lips brushed mine. But before I could even freak out, my brain must've short circuited or something, because I took a step forward and full on pushed my lips into his, he took a second to respond but then he kissed me back with such fervor that I didn't see coming. My lips moved against his as if hungry for him. It was a pretty good feeling, kissing Regulus Black.

I couldn't think of ever having such a perfect birthday.


	13. Miscommunications Lead to Fallouts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just realised that this has turned into a very musical story,, anyway the program I imagine them skating to in this first part is Virtue/Moir's Mahler Symphony No 5, please check it out, it's fucking amazing and I cry every time I watch it.
> 
> The second song is The Story of Us by Taylor Swift.

_I breathed in Reg's scent, his own breathing matched perfectly to mine. My vision was blocked by his shirt. His arms delicately draped over my waist._

_We stayed breathing in silence for a few more seconds, before we finally pulled away, him taking my hands into his and giving me a small warm smile and a nod._

_Without the warmth of his body, I could feel the cold nipping at my arms. I got onto the ice holding Regulus's hand, the crowd around us cheered like crazy, but as I looked into Reg's eyes, the only person I could see was him._

_"On the ice representing Great Britain, Daisy Evans and Regulus Black!" The announcer's voice resonated through the building._

_As we got onto the the center of the ice and took our starting positions, I knew as long as Reg was beside me, everything would turn out just fine._

_The first notes of our music sounded through the arena, and our bodies were like clockwork, we knew exactly what we had to do._

_Reg softly speaking to me made me feel safe. The smooth sounds of our blades comforted me._

_I focused on our performance, trying so hard for every element to be as in sync as possible. This was everything we'd hoped for, everything we'd been working so hard for._

_It felt right to skate next to Reg. I looked into his eyes as I came out of a lift and all I could see was the face of trust and care._

_I leaned on to his bent leg as we both looked at the sky with hopeful eyes, our fingers intertwining. The arena broke down into cheers._

_We took a few bows, and neither of us seemed to be able to contain the grins on our faces. We'd performed our hearts out._

_Regulus gave me an incredulous look as he went in for a hug. He held me so tightly I felt like I might be a bit short of breath. He leaned back a little and he had a look on his face that I couldn't quite describe, but it made me weak in the knees. He took my face in his hands and after staring back and forth between my eyes and my lips he leaned in slowly._

_I held my breath as his lips brushed mine._

"EDWARDS!"

I woke with a start and immediately located the source of the yell so I could glare at her.

"What is it, Safiya?" My voice was raspy.

"It's wakey time, or you're gonna be late." Saf said, before stepping out of the room, hairbrush in hand.

I groaned, but didn't get my head off the pillow just yet.

Three weeks. It had been three weeks since Regulus Black and I kissed — more like snogged, honestly — covered in fluorescent paint on my birthday party. That was the last time things were normal between us.

The week following the kiss, we'd both avoided each other. I, because I was kind of scared he'd say he'd regret it and that it was a mistake. But his reasoning I wasn't so sure of.

Not to brag, but I was quite good at avoiding people when I wanted to. So during that week, our last week of Easter break, we'd barely heard a peep from each other.

Then as classes started I realised that it would be kind of complicated to avoid each other so efficiently, since we had two classes together, one of which we were partners in.

So after a few days, I swallowed my pride and went up to Reg to amend things and just ask to amend things, and act like normal again. But much to my bitterness, he'd pretty much just ignored me, which royally pissed me the fuck off. So I was currently very cross with him, but apparently my subconscious couldn't tire of reminding me how much I still liked him.

I truly hated this.

* * *

" _Everyone's favourite commentator is back and she's ready for some Quidditch!_ " I yelled into the mic.

This game was exactly what I needed to get my mind off a certain grey eyed boy. I truly thanked the lord Slytherin wasn't playing today.

" _First off, I would like to say a quick thank you to everyone who's been reading my column on the Hogwarts Gazette, I appreciate your support. So as a bit of a treat, here's a peek at next week's topic. Exclusive images from the Chudley Cannon's last game, are all those triangle formations coincidence or are they trying to tell us something? Also, my take on Snitchnipgate, is Baz Marrow from the Montrose Magpies being framed? Is it all part of a bigger conspiracy in the BIQL?_ "

I proceeded to introduce both teams enthusiastically, though I must admit, Gryffindor a bit more excitedly than Ravenclaw.

" _Alright, and they're off. Gryffindor is in possession, one of my favourite things about the Gryffindor trio of Chasers is how well they compliment each other's skills, they're truly in sync with each other as they are proVING RIGHT NOW WITH THE FIRST GOAL OF THE MATCH!_ "

The crowd cheered for Gryffindor. My attention was suddenly drawn to one tiny blonde girl.

" _Did y'all just see that? Ellie Benson just did a backbeat with that bludger and oh my god, this tiny thirteen-year-old just did one of the moves even pros struggle with! Talk about an ICON!_ "

" _Oh and would you look at that? Kingsley and Macmillan just went two for two with that Quaffle. Ugh, I just adore this team! They just need to make the final, it's what they deserve_."

I spotted the wondrous Ravenclaw Seeker, Grace Richardson quickly flying through the air, following what appeared to be the Snitch. Ugh I could not believe Nat was going against her. Two of the best Seekers Hogwarts had ever seen, but only one could win.

Wait. Was Nat – ? Apparently she had spotted the Snitch too? " _And lookey here, folks. It appears as if both Seekers have spotted the Snitch, or a Snitch-like object_." Grace slowed down a bit as she realised Nat was going for the golden ball in a completely different direction. " _Ooh seems like Grace is doubting her sighting a bit as Nat strides on confidently. Grace's gonna have to make a decision soon._ "

And that she did. " _And Grace's decided to follow Nat's pace! Ravenclaw has taken the chance to score another goal! Nat seems to be gaining even more speed as she moves closer to the ground. Is she doing what I think she's doing? Oh my god, Carson just Wronski feinted Richardson!_ " I half-yelled incredulous. " _Richardson had indeed seen the Snitch, but since Natalliya Carson is a smart, cunning, powerful musk ox, she went in for the feint to shake Richardson's confidence, which she achieved. Oh my god, I will never stop talking about this._ "

A few more goals were achieved but I was still hung up on my friend's brilliant-ness.

" _To all the people who've said Natalliya is overrated as a Seeker, I am literally caCKLING. And don't think I don't know who y'all are, or why you claim such bullshit. I mean don't we all know_ just _how much men_ love _it when a girl shows them she is better than them at something they love._ "

One of the Ravenclaw Chasers kicked the Quaffle with the mast of her broom right into one of the goal posts. " _Oh and look at that_ beautiful _Finbourgh flick from Carrie Roberts, she's so underrated, that move is a toughie, but when done right, god is it just beautiful_."

The Ravenclaws cheered, and I heard a peppy scream of "Ravenclaw for the win!"

" _Oh Ravenclaw winning, does that sound like something that you want? Well let me tell you something, you're never gonna get it_."

Okay, maybe I was being a  _little_  harsh, but I would support this Gryffindor Team until my dying day.

" _Oh and these Chasers are just on fire today! Gryffindor just broke a hundred points, while Ravenclaw is down by ten, which means if the Gryffs get the Snitch_ right now _, they are_ in _the final_."

Oh god I was feeling physically ill with the nerves.

I suddenly saw Nat stop abruptly and slowly fly towards the ground.  _What on earth was she doing?_  She then proceeded to get off her broom and out of thin air, the Snitch was suddenly in her hand.

It took everyone (including me) a few seconds to register what was happening, but slowly both teams stopped and the Gryffindor House broke down in deafening cheers.

I nearly jumped out of my seat as I realised. "Oh my god.  _OH MY GOD._ Coach Farizan calls it and Gryffindor fucking wins 250 to 90! And oh sweet baby Jesus I think I've figured it out. Earlier in the match Grace had actually tried to lure Nat into a Wronski feint but  _of course_  Nat wasn't buying, so she kept looking for the Snitch, which she SPOTTED, and went for  _BUT_  she knew that she couldn't catch it until Gryff was at  _at least_  a hundred points so she pulled a Plumpton pass and  _somehow_ hid the Snitch in her sleeve until now and let us all think she did a Wronski feint before. Ugh, that is  _A Seeker_! The freaking legend jumped out!"

The crowd continued to cheer loudly as they heard my rant. It seemed like they were as impressed as I was. And the actual Gryffindor Team was celebrating harder than anyone.

"I will literally  _never_  shut up about this. This is the best thing that has happened in Hogwarts Quidditch in years." I actually stood up from my seat in excitement. "And all of you who bet against this team, how does it feel to be boo boo the fool? I hope y'all learned your lesson. Because I would  _never_  bet against Natalliya Carson!"

* * *

I'd been focusing a lot in class lately. Partly because of someone my mind kept wanting to come back to even when I begged her not to, and partly because, well,  _I should_.

Music class had especially been sort of an outlet for me though. Our teacher had started encouraging us to write our own songs, and funnily enough, I'd had a bunch of those just swirling around my head lately, I just needed to write them down.

What I really needed at the moment was a song I could belt out all my feelings to, which I'd figured out just a few days ago.

I was performing with Dan today, as he was the only other student who could play a Muggle instrument, so he was on drum duty, which was a very important part of my song. And I'd convinced Mr Higuchi to join us on the guitar.

As I sang the first few words, I could literally feel the pressure on my shoulders lifting. It had been so frustrating not being able to talk about this with anyone because I couldn't tell my friends or my sister what was going on, because there was no way to explain my relationship with Regulus without revealing his secrets, which I — even though I was very mad at him — was in no place to say. And when my friends inevitably asked who the song was about, I'd say it was about an old beau, because in their eyes Reg and I could never be anything other than casual friendly acquaintances.

' _Oh, a simple complication_  
 _Miscommunications lead to fallout_  
 _So many things that I wish you knew_  
 _So many walls up, I can't break through_.'

Dear god, why did Reg had to be  _like that_? I knew it wasn't entirely his fault, he'd been taught since infancy not to talk about his feelings and to generally be bitter about the human population. But he made it so hard. I knew  _I_  wasn't going to keep trying without reciprocation.

' _Oh, I'm scared to see the ending_  
 _Why are we pretending this is nothing?_  
 _I'd tell you I miss you, but I don't know how_  
 _I've never heard silence quite this loud._ '

I headbanged as we hit a musical accent, my hair flying everywhere, it was liberating.

' _This is looking like a contest_  
 _Of who can act like they care less_  
 _But I liked it better when you were on my side_  
 _The battle's in your hands now_  
 _But I would lay my armor down_  
 _If you say you'd rather love than fight_.'

I was a bit short of breath and I was starting to sweat but I loved every minute of it. My classmates looked a bit freaked out by my intensity, but Nat gave me a thumbs up as I looked her way.

' _And we're not speaking_  
 _And I'm dying to know_  
 _Is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah?_  
 _I don't know what to say since the twist of fate_  
 _'Cause we're going down_  
 _And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now_.'

I sang  _so_  loud, as if I wanted Regulus to hear me, wherever in the castle he might be. It felt really good.

* * *

"Okay, what in the fuck is going on?" I snapped at my friends.

Nat, Saf, Bella and I had been sat at the Slytherin table for about ten minutes. Ten minutes in which not a single word had been uttered. The three girls had just kept throwing furtive glances at each other and eating their food really slowly.

Bella sighed. "It's nothing, we've just been meaning to ask, why have you been so mopey the last few weeks, and what was up with that song you wrote for music class? And we know we've all been asking about your mood, and you've said you're okay, but we just don't buy it."

Oh. Well I knew this day would come, which means I should've thought my answer through a bit better. But I was going to have to improvise a bit.

I looked down at my chipped nail polish. "It's just, the song is about my ex-boyfriend and since I started writing it, I've been sort of reliving some of the things we went through, and that's why I've been mopey, as you say."

I looked up at them briefly, all three of them looked like they believed me, and were concerned about me, which made me feel awful.

"Oh, and when did you date this guy?" Nat asked gingerly.

"Uh we broke up in November of last year and we were together for a bit over a year." Okay, so I moved up our break up date a bit, but that way it'd be more normal for me to still be kind of upset about it.

Saf placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "So you must've been fairly serious."

Why were they being so compassionate?

I shrugged. "Well, yeah kind of. I think it was one of those things where you think a guy is loving and funny and sexy but it turns out he's just  _tall_."

Saf gave a short laugh.

"Oh yeah I get that." Nat smiled slyly.

"I mean, he was 6'2, we've all done stupid shit for 6'2." I said.

The girls laughed tentatively.

"But was it good?" Bella asked. "Before you realised he was just tall?"

I poked at my food. "Yeah, I guess it was pretty good. But he was always upset about me going away for competitions, and my training hours. I don't think he was ever genuinely happy to see me win. That's when I started to realise, that I couldn't live like that."

"Well fuck him, you deserve someone who's proud of you, who supports you, and who cheers almost as loudly as your friends for you. Someone who wants all you have to offer, and who tries, and genuinely wants to make things work." Nat smiled softly at me.

"Thanks, Nat. Who needs men anyway? Friends are the real deal. Friends watch out for you, they take you to the airport, boyfriends just love you and kiss you, yikes."

* * *

_Dear Sirius,_

_Heyy, sorry it's taken me a while to write back. I think your bike looks great! Maybe you can take me for a ride someday, if we can sneak past my sister. And if you're trying to get into Muggle films, I_ would _recommend Star Wars, it's one of my faves._

_I've been doing alright. I've been doing well in my classes. I especially like Divination. But Music's been treating me well too. Did you take Potions as a NEWT? Because I could certainly do with some advice._

_I've actually been meaning to ask you about a subject I know you're not very keen on, but will you please_ please _please humour me? It's about your brother._

_He said something to me in class that got me thinking (don't worry it wasn't anything bad, I'm fine, he hasn't done anything to me) and I just wanted to ask you, do you really think he's a D*ath E*ter? Do you think he feels forced to be involved in all this? If he were under different circumstances, do you think he'd even be in the Order? Also, out of curiosity, what was he like growing up?_

_As, I said, everything is absolutely fine. I'm just curious, I've said maybe two words to him, and the same on his end. It's okay if you don't feel comfortable answering though, if that's the case just ignore that part of the letter._

_See you soon,_

_Rainbow_

As I attached the letter to one of the school owls, I wondered if I was right in doing this, I knew neither Regulus nor Sirius would be very pleased about this, but Regulus didn't have to know, and Sirius would have to get over it.

Of course, I knew the answer to almost all the questions I'd asked Sirius, but I still wanted to know his opinion. All the theories I'd been toying with in my head were starting to mess with my sanity, and maybe Sirius's reply would bring me at least something resembling an answer.

I watched the owl fly away until it could be no longer seen in the blue sky, before sighing and walking out of the owlery.


	14. RAB

I was afraid to admit that I had more than one song about Regulus fucking Black. I had my angry songs I didn't mind belting out in front of everyone, but the quieter, rawer songs I was scared for anyone to listen to, for even me to listen to. It made everything seem too real. So those depressing songs were reserved to lonely thursday evenings in the music room alone with my guitar.

' _We are alone with our changing minds_  
 _We fall in love til it hurts or bleeds, or fades in time_.'

I truly hated being sappy, like yes, this was what I was feeling, but what a way to be depressive.

' _You come around and the armour falls_  
 _Pierce the room like a cannonball_  
 _Now all we know, is don't let go_.'

I felt a lump in my throat, but I refused to cry, I hadn't shed a tear throughout this entire situation, and I sure as hell wasn't going to start now.

' _So you were never a saint_  
 _And I've loved in shades of wrong_  
 _We learn to live with the pain_  
 _Mosaic broken hearts_  
 _But this love is brave, and wild._ '

Oh my god, could I  _be_  any more depressive?

' _These are the hands of fate_  
 _You're my Achilles heel._ '

I took a short pause and sighed.

' _And I never saw you coming_  
 _And I'll never be the same._ '

My fingers lingered on the strings as I stared into the void, my brain completely occupied.

It had been almost four weeks now, almost a whole month, and I really wasn't thinking about it (him) so much. I was starting to accept that yes, things had started off really good despite circumstances, which had made me really hopeful, and yes, our relationship had taken off in part because we knew each other's deepest secrets, but maybe we had been doomed since the beginning.

I jumped in surprise as the door flew open.

I did a double take at the doorway as I saw Regulus standing there, with his kicked puppy face. "I think we should talk."

And with that, my heart nearly burst out of my chest. I felt like I was going to pass out. I held my guitar closely still, as a sort of shield. I gave him a curt nod and he walked into the room, shutting the door behind him.

As he approached me, my heart somehow started beating even faster, I hoped he couldn't hear it. I was worried about what he had to say. If he was as cold and unfeeling towards me as he had been whenever he'd spared me a glance in the past weeks, I didn't think I could bear it.

Regulus took a seat on the step right below where I was sitting, rendering a good foot below me, that and the lack of coldness in his eyes gave me some comfort.

"I haven't been exactly nice, or forthcoming with you lately. I'm sorry." He said without looking at me.

My brain got swarmed with comebacks, but I tried to cool it down. This was serious time. I shouldn't be  _that_  petty. "You could've just said you weren't interested, you didn't have to just start being awful to me and ignoring me."

Regulus sighed in frustration. "It wasn't — I didn't mean to come across that way."

I huffed. "Right. Because you have been nothing but pleasant towards me lately, of course, my fucking bad." I finally put my guitar aside as I was getting fired up. "I mean, maybe I should've known, maybe it's  _my_  fault that I thought I had you figured out. I'm sure that's what you think – "

"Please." Regulus cut in. "I'm obviously the one who has the most explaining to do here, so can you just listen? It's just hard to find the words."

I stood down. "Alright."

We sat in silence for a few seconds.

Regulus rubbed the back of his neck before speaking up. "What I'm about to tell you is not because I expect your forgiveness, I just hope you can understand." He took a deep breath. "When you kissed me that day in Hogsmeade, it was – it was just  _amazing_ , it was the greatest experience I have ever had."

I fought really hard to keep a smile from my face. "I see my hyperbolic ways have been rubbing off."

He ignored my comment. "But after it happened, I took you back inside and left because I realised that you were drunk."

I opened my mouth to retort but Regulus didn't let me.

"Yes, I knew you weren't  _that_  drunk, but I still felt like it wasn't genuine, I mean, would you have just gone for it completely sober? So if I kept kissing you I would have felt like I was taking advantage of the situation, so I left. We avoided each other the following week, I, because I thought when you sobered up you'd regretted it, so I didn't want to face you. But then after two weeks of ignoring you, I realised we should probably talk things out, and I also realised that I  _really_  liked you, and wanted to kiss you again, various times, and I knew I should tell you. But then something happened.'

'Avery and Selwyn came up to me, and they told me some people had told them I'd gone to your close-friend-exclusive birthday party. And they basically told me to stay away from you, unless I wanted my reputation with the Death Eaters ruined. So I said a few mean things to you in class, so they'd think we weren't friends anymore. Then when they got off my back after a week or so, I really wanted to tell you I hadn't meant any of that stuff. But at that point I just thought you hated my guts already, so I just didn't want to face you. And I'm sorry, I know it's a stupid reason not to try talking to you. But it wasn't until the other day, I was walking to the Charms classroom when I heard you singing that song, and I realised that I was being a moron, and couldn't just leave things as they were. Then I heard you again today, and I started feeling like you were haunting me, telling me I should talk with you, so I just came in here."

Dear god. Fuck. What a fucking way to dump a load on me. Okay. So, Regulus Black just admitted to fancying me? And I didn't even have to beat it out of him. Wow.

I looked at him, and those soft grey eyes that I missed so much. He was obviously expecting me to say something, but he had just rendered me speechless. He had turned me into a puddle. A puddle of pudding. I nodded once, very slowly. What he probably wasn't expecting me to do was to practically pounce on him like a wild animal, knock him down to his back and plant a good one on him.

God, I'd only kissed him once, but I'd missed his lips and how they moved so perfectly along with mine.

His hands tangled in my hair, but before the kiss could deepen, I abruptly pulled away and sat back down in my spot.

He seemed a bit confused, but sat back up too.

"Alright, I just needed to do that, but I'm still upset with you, mister, and we still need to talk." I stated matter-of-fact.

Regulus took my hand in his and gave me a meaningful look. "I'm really,  _really_  sorry."

I cut him off. "Yeah, you don't have to say that anymore, I've already forgiven you. My upset levels will go down with time. I do want to tell you though, that if you haven't noticed, I  _really_  like you too. And I would never ever regret that kiss."

Regulus smiled, and my heart melted. "You know we'll have to hide, though."

I nodded. "Yeah, I figured that one out. Especially now with Selwyn-and-Averygate."

Regulus frowned. "What?"

"Oh yeah, I've been using gate to refer to every problem lately, you'd known if you'd been talking to me the past month."

"What does it mean though?"

Right, wizards. "Oh it's a Muggle thing, I'll explain later. By the way, I reserve the right to be petty about the past three weeks for the next three months or so."

"I guess that's fair."

I smiled. "So we won't tell anyone at all, then?"

"No one."

I bit my lip. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Regulus gave me a deep look. "Rainbow, there are very few things I am sure of about my life in the next months, but the only thing I'm absolutely sure of is that I want to be with you. No matter what. We won't have to hide forever, but if this is what it takes right now, I am absolutely willing to do it. You're the best person I know, and you make me want to be better. I promise I will do everything in my power to make you happy, because you deserve no less."

My stomach could've won the gold in gymnastics for the amount of somersaults it was doing.

"That reminds me, we should probably start thinking about what are we going to do about the Death Eater thing." I said.

Reg looked a bit shaken up at the reminder. "That we should."

* * *

"Bowie! It's your favourite wizard!"

I turned around to see Sirius, with a wide smile. Fucking finally. He gave me a big tight hug.

"Woah, what's with all the love?" I asked.

"What? Am I not allowed to miss my best friend's girlfriend's sister?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Why aren't you inside? It's cold out here." He put his hand on my back and led me inside.

"I wasn't to come in on my own." I reasoned.

We sat at a table on the back, and Sirius got us some drinks.

"Ooh Lily's not gonna be too happy about you getting me alcoholic drinks." I stirred my weird wizard drink.

Sirius smirked. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her. As long as you're off age."

"So, what is it you needed to come all the way out here to tell me?" I asked.

His smile dropped slowly. "There's just some things that I can't really discuss in the mail." His eyes avoided me. "Can you please tell me what exactly did my lovely brother say to you to spark all this interest?"

I dropped my head onto my hands, I'd been cracking my brain trying to figure out what I was going to make up. I'd asked Reg to help me think. I even had him do a reenactment of what one of our interactions would've been like three months ago. "Uh, it was a comment about my blood status, I mean, it wasn't rude, it was just a comment."

"You sure? 'Cause if you want I can walk up to the castle right now and beat him up."

I choked on my drink. "He's your brother! You're not beating him up!"

"If he's been a little shit to you, I sure will." He seemed set to it.

I shook my head. "Okay, stop. Do you  _really_  think he's a You-Know-Who supporter?"

Sirius sighed. "I... don't think my brother is an inherently bad person, for a long time I couldn't understand why he didn't just tell our parents to go to hell and bolt, like I did. I knew he wasn't like them, even though he does have a slight obsession with Voldy. But even putting all that stuff aside, no matter if deep  _deep_  inside he's not completely rotten, the company he keeps, the front he puts up, those things mean he's not good news for you. He's still most likely going to be become a Death Eater if he isn't one already, and a lot of his friends  _are_  Death Eaters. So you need to stay away from him. I know you're a sensible person, so I assume you understand why."

I don't think I'd ever seen Sirius with such a... well, serious expression on his face.

I tried to give him a comforting smile. "Don't worry about that, I'd much rather stay on the side of the non-blood supremacists, I'm not going to talk to him more than absolutely necessary."

Sirius nodded once. "Good."

"So, were you close as kids? Is that why you think that 'deep  _deep_  inside he isn't completely rotten'?" I asked.

Sirius sat back on his chair. "I guess we were pretty close as kids. Until I started Hogwarts, but even then he still liked me and treated me normally for a while, even if my parents were pissed at me. It wasn't until Regulus started Hogwarts that my mum started telling him to stay away from me, that I was a bad influence, and a bad son, and that he shouldn't be like me. So, he listened to her, because he was always a momma's boy. I tried to tell him that he didn't have to listen to her, that our parents weren't as great as he thought, but if there was one thing Regulus could never do was disappoint  _them_ , especially not after I was officially named the family disappointment.

'So every year at Hogwarts we'd just ignore each other's existence, but then at home my mother would be really awful to me, and when he was younger he tried to get her to back off me a few times." He chuckled humourlessly. "It was the only time I ever saw him openly disagree with Mother, but then she'd turn on him and he'd get so scared, so at some point I made him promise not to try defending me, that I'd be fine, so he  _never_  did again. So we started ignoring each other at home too.

'The last time I can recall having a conversation with my brother was the night I left home for good. I went into his room and asked him to come with me, I told him we'd get our own place, that he didn't have to become a Death Eater, but he just sort of sat there, said nothing, and then our mother came in and accused me of trying to lure him into becoming a delinquent too. I left later that day, he could've come with me, but he decided to stay in that hell house, become a Death Eater, the whole thing. He  _chose_  that life."

I took a deep breath. That was... a lot. I stayed quiet for a few seconds, before slowly placing a comforting hand on Sirius's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Sirius placed his hand over mine and tried to lift his lips into a tiny smile. "Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Well, from what you said, that conversation with Regulus felt like you finally lost your brother for good, and I'm guessing no one gave you, and you didn't give yourself time to mourn."

Sirius looked down. "I'm okay, Bow. I've made my peace with it."

I took my hand back. "Alright, but if you want to talk about it, I'm here anytime."

Sirius smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

"We had another very good day, Rainbow, and I appreciate your newfound enthusiasm for Divination. Don't forget to lock the door when you leave."

I nodded at Professor Vablatsky. I'd told her I wanted to stay working on unfogging the future for a bit longer, so she was letting me stay in the classroom for a bit. I felt kind of guilty that she was so happy at my 'newfound enthusiasm', but this arrangement worked pretty well for Reg and I. I could pretend I was still working on my psychic-ness, and he would pretend he was studying.

As Vablatsky shut the door behind her, I looked at the clock. 5:54. Dang, I'd told Regulus to come at 6:10 just to be safe, so I now had sixteen minutes to kill. At least the Divination classroom had some pretty comfy furniture. I laid back in my seat and looked at the crystal ball in front of me.

Today we'd been working on seeing someone's future with only the help of one of their items. Vablatsy had brought me a hair pin that one of her students had dropped at some point in time. So now I knew that whomever that hair pin belonged to would have an unplanned pregnancy, and would get a cushy job at the Ministry of Magic. Do with that information what you will.

I started running my fingers through the ball, I'd felt so stupid the first time I'd done that, but now I did it as a second nature. I liked watching the sparkly purple smoke swirl around the inside of the ball. Maybe I could start trying to see things about people who weren't in the room at all, with or without their stuff.

I didn't focus on anyone in particular, but I could see the smoke moving aside to reveal something.

But as I started getting a clear image, I immediately regretted trying to do this.

It was Regulus, standing on top of a rock, surrounded by water, a house elf standing next to him. Reg drank some sort of liquid from a basin, then he gave an object to the elf, before reaching for the water. But just as his hand broke through the surface, a hand came out of the water and grabbed him, and all of a sudden, a bunch of humanoid creatures started dragging him under. He fought for a few seconds, before being dragged far down the surface and effectively drowning.

I stifled a gasp with my hand. I could feel the tears prickling at my eyes and my throat closing up. I moved my chair back with a horrid skid, trying to distance myself from the ball as much as possible.

Regulus was going to die. Soon, for the looks of it. He was going to fucking die. Professor Vablatsky had warned me about making prophecies and predictions for the people close to you, it just was not a good idea.

But maybe now that I knew I could stop it. Yes, of course, I had to stop it. I just had to. I'd put Regulus under house arrest for the rest of his life if I had to. Thinking about stopping Regulus from dying reminded me about two other deaths I'd also promised myself to stop. My own sister's and her now fiancé's. I was pretty sure those two were further off. But it made me sad to think about. And there was always that underlying thought of what if I can't save them, any of them? The future was a tricky thing, and messing with it was hard. But I had to do it.

Why was everyone I cared about destined to die?

I still couldn't keep my tears from dropping like waterfalls. I dropped my head between my hands.

"Bow? Are you okay?"

I looked up to see Regulus standing in the doorway. I started crying even harder. But I got up and latched myself onto him like a koala, crying into his chest.

He hugged me back. "What happened?"

I tried to calm myself down a little, and kissed him hard on the mouth. He happily returned the kiss.

I pulled away slightly. "I'm sorry I'm disgusting."

He smiled a smile that could defeat Voldemort. "It's fine. Did something happen?"

I shook my head, and laid back on his chest. "I'm just really  _really_  happy that you're here. That you're real."


	15. Muggle

Natalliya ran into the shores of the lake cheering wildly, making her biggest effort to splash water all around.

Her excitement was due though. We'd all just finished our NEWTs. I'd only done three, but the rest of the girls had done five or six, except for Tessa, who did eight, because she was an overachiever.

At first I'd considered not studying at all for the exams, because I literally did not need to do them but I quickly realised it would be pretty suspicious if I just walked around being the only Seventh Year student who did not give a single shit about the NEWTs, also once my friends started the hardcore studying, it was pretty boring just being by myself doing nothing.

So I did my three NEWTs. Did I pass them? I had no idea, probably not. The only exam I felt like I'd done sort of well in was Divination, and only because I was an actual Seer.

I sat along the calm lake along with my friends. Our loosened ties and messy robes breathed a sigh of relief in themselves.

"Oh my god, Bow, how hard was Potions? I almost died." Nat exclaimed.

I sighed deeply. "Ugh, I am absolutely sure I'm getting a T. I mean, what was that whole bit about the properties of Salamander skin? What the fuck?"

"Right! I'm just praying I get at least an A so I can become an Auror."

"Oh, you'll totally get it, Nat." Saf piped in.

Nat stood up and set her hands on her hips with a determined look on her face. "Alright, but as of not one of us is allowed to worry, because tonight WE PARTY!"

* * *

All twenty-odd Seventh Year teenagers in the Ravenclaw common room were dancing non-stop, eighty percent of them were well on their way to being drunk off their arses, me included. I wasn't the drunkest person in the room, but I was definitely tipsy.

Nat took me by the hands and started dancing wildly with me. After almost six months of knowing her I still couldn't quite tell if she was pissed or if she was just like that.

Mine and Nat's matching glittery dresses sparkled under the lights. I laughed at Nat's antics as she shook her arse to the music.

I must say wizards knew how to party. There was something about wizard alcohol that got everyone going real quick. I wished I could at least approach Reg, who had been sitting in the corner with a few of his cronies all night. But being with my friends was still pretty good.

Right as I glanced towards Regulus, one of the guys in his little group stood up. It was Avery. Little shit.

Avery hopped on one of the coffee tables with a smug look on his face and called for everyone's attention. Which people surprisingly gave to him.

Someone turned the music down.

"For a while now we have been lied to, cheated, made fools of." A point, anywhere? "Filth has snuck its way into our school."

I tensed up, sobering up real quick.

"A Muggle has found their way into our sacred place of learning, to try to steal our magic, deceive us with their Muggle ways. But today, they are going to be uncovered. And there shall be no mercy."

I was frozen. My heartbeat could rival a hummingbird's at the moment. I could feel my throat close up. I stared straight ahead, praying what I was sure was coming next wouldn't come.

"And that person." Avery paused, then he looked me straight in the eye. "Is Daisy Edwards." He pointed an accusatory finger at me.

I could feel every eye in the room turning towards me.

"Will you shut up?" Nat bellowed from my side. "No one here believes you."

I looked down in shame. I'd been lying to Nat, to all my friends. They didn't deserve it.

Avery smirked, and I'd never wanted to punch someone in the face as badly as I did him right now. "Oh, right? Then take out your wand, Edwards, do a spell. Have any of you actually seen her perform magic? Think about it."

People started whispering amongst themselves, I felt like I was going to pass out. I glanced at my friends but they were staring at me like they didn't even know me.

Before anyone else could demand I showed them I was a witch, I turned on my heel and ran out of the room as fast as I could.

As soon as I was out of view I broke down in sobs, but I didn't stop running. I needed to get out of here. Out of Hogwarts. I couldn't face my friends or even my classmates.

How in the hell had that little fuck found out? I mean, it couldn't have been – ? No, of course not, he would never do that to me. Right? Right?

I cried harder.

* * *

 

**END OF PART ONE**


	16. PART II

PART II

CHANGE

"the debate over whether people change is an interesting one for me to observe because it seems like all i ever do is change. all i ever do is learn from my mistakes so i don't make the same ones again. then i make new ones. i know people can change because it happens to me little by little every day. every day i wake up as someone slightly new. isn't it wild and intriguing and beautiful to think that every day we are new?"


	17. Letters

_Scattered letters from the desk of Rainbow Evans, dated June 1979 to September 1979._

* * *

June 4, 1979

Dear Bow,  
Regulus pulled me aside the day after you left and explained everything to me. I understand. I told the girls but I think they're more focused on the fact that you lied to them. To be honest, I was kind of upset too at first, but Regulus helped me understand. Don't worry though, they'll come around.

I hope you're doing okay. No one really knows whether to believe you're a Muggle or not. The teachers said to everyone you left because your parents were worried about the current situation with Death Eaters and everything, most people believe that, it helps that you're not the first to leave because of that this year.

Haley told us she's going to run a story about you on the gazette tomorrow. She questioned me and the girls but we didn't tell her anything. Even if the rest of the girls are mad at you at the moment, you can rest assured that your secrets are safe with them.

I miss you lots, I hope we can see each other soon.

Love,  
Nat

* * *

June 5, 1979

Dear Nat,

You have no idea how relieved I was to read your letter. I am so sorry about everything. I really wanted to tell you guys everything, but my sister insisted I didn't.

I guess I was also afraid that you wouldn't like the fact that I'm a Muggle, but that was stupid, I know none of you are like that.

Please let me know what Haley says on the gazette, I trust her, but she's a really good journalist, it kind of worries me.

I really miss you too.

Yours,  
Rainbow

* * *

June 5, 1979

Reg,

It's been only a few days but I miss your face so much. I know it's probably going to be a while before we can see each other again, it makes me sad but you're right, we don't want any suspicion on us.

Thank you for telling Nat everything, I know you risked a lot to do it, and I really appreciate it.

I have gone back to my regularly scheduled training, although I do miss having the ice all to myself I was definitely in need of my coach. Next season is Olympic season, so I'll probably start training longer hours soon.

See you soon,  
Rainbow

* * *

June 7, 1979

Bow!  
The article on the gazette was nothing to worry about! It was mainly about the fact that you're leaving because of Voldy and all that stuff, Haley handled everything pretty well, everything's going to be fine.

We miss you!

Nat

* * *

June 9, 1979

You are cordially invited to join Ms Petunia Evans & Mr Vernon Dursley on their wedding day, June 23rd 1979 at half past seven in the evening, Saint Paul's, Little Whinging, Surrey.

Rainbow,  
I'm not inviting the freak, I don't care what you say. You can come if you want.

Petunia

* * *

June 12, 1979

Dear Bow,  
Today was the last Quidditch match of the season, sadly we lost to Slytherin, which I'm sure you'll be happy to hear. I'm not too upset, I'm glad Saf won. We seriously missed your commentating, they had a fifth year do it and his humour honestly just fell flat on everyone.

I'm currently filling my application for Auror training, I can't wait for NEWT results, it's the only thing left. Fingers crossed I get in!

You  _are_  talking to Regulus, right? Because he looks mopey as ever. He was very determined at the match though.

See ya,  
Nat

* * *

June 21, 1979

Dear Bow,  
Please for the love of god make yourself something to eat when you get home from training, remember it's only for a few days! Then I'll be back home and feed you as regular.

And please let me know if you're going to Tuney's wedding! I know you don't want to talk about it, but just tell me yes or no, because if you do go you should go with someone, for safety, I doubt anything's going to happen, but it would make me feel a lot better.

Missing you lots!

Love,  
Lily

* * *

June 25, 1979

Dear Rainbow,  
Graduation was today, I missed seeing you in that black gown, your green Slytherin tie tied incorrectly as always. I realised as I watched each person in our class get their diplomas, that you're the only person here I remotely care about, I actually considered leaving after you left, I had nothing left at this school, but it would have been too suspicious. I'm so glad I found you though, and I'm so stupidly happy things worked out for us to be together somehow. I don't know where I'd be now if I hadn't met you  
I got my NEWT results back. They're enough for an apprenticeship with the potioneer I told you about, but I don't know what's going to happen with the Death Eaters.

I can't wait to see you again in a few days.

Regulus

* * *

June 26, 1979

Dear Bow,  
Today was our graduation. Even though you were only here for a short time, your absence is quite noticeable.

I don't think the rest of the girls are ready to talk to you again, but they definitely missed you at graduation. Tessa gave a beautiful speech and the girls cried. They said your name when they handed out the diplomas, so I think that might mean you passed your NEWTs!

I'm starting Auror training on August 23. Becoming an Auror at this time seems especially scary, but I know that's what I want to do. It's going to be tough, but I know I've got you, and Saf and Bella and Tessa.

I hope we can see each other soon.

Love,  
Nat

* * *

July 2, 1979

Professor Vablatsky,  
I am very grateful for everything you have done for me, but I don't think there's anything more you could teach me, even if there is, I've seen some things that have made me very wary of my 'gift'.

I understand that my abilities can be used for good, but I'm not sure the emotional turmoil they have put me through is worth it. Now that I can control my visions, I don't think I'll be using the Sight unless absolutely necessary. After all, if it's something really important the vision will come whether I want it or not, right?

I'm sorry not everything could work out the way you wanted it to.

Thank you for everything,  
Rainbow Evans

* * *

July 6, 1979

Rainbow,  
I think I can get away from my place tomorrow, there's something I really need to talk to you about, but it can't be by letter.

Meet me at 5pm at that Muggle place you like.

Reg

* * *

July 17, 1979

Dear Bella,  
I know you don't really want anything to do with me at the moment, but I know today's your birthday and I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday.

I know what I did was shitty, but I seriously never meant to hurt your feelings or make you feel like we weren't real friends, and I'm sorry.  
I wish things could've gone another way, but it is what it is. I am a Muggle, I hope you can take me as I am.

I'm always here for you if you want to talk, I hope you will someday. You are so clever and gorgeous and hardworking and kind and poised, you are too good for this world, Bella. I know you will accomplish great things. I don't want to miss out on being your friend.

Love,  
Rainbow

* * *

July 25, 1979

Reg,  
These past two weeks have been looong, I can't wait to see you.

About the whole BG thing, just don't worry, everything will turn out fine, we'll definitely talk more when we see each other, but just know that everything's okay so far.

I think my programs for this season are officially done and finished and ready to be put out into the world. I'm sticking with the SLO free (bc as you know, it's my favourite), we  _did_  change a few things though, but I can't wait until you see my new short program, I'm very excited about it!

Also, I've been added to a small comp that's going to be held at the rink in September, I really want you to be there, I'm sure we can figure something out.

Love,  
Rainbow

* * *

August 3, 1979  
Hey Bowie,  
What's up, kiddo? How's the skating treating you? I know you miss me, but there's no need to worry, I'm finally back to normal this week.

I very we'll see each other sooner or later at Jily's place, but I just wanted to know if you'll get a Butterbeer with me, and catch up sometime this week?

Sirius

* * *

August 14, 1979

Lily,  
My gig at the place I told you about went great! After the wedding you've got to come to the café, I think you'd love it, it has a very indie, vintage vibe.

So many things went down last night, I wish we still had our magic mirrors so we could talk, getting a landline for your place wouldn't hurt though. I'll do brief runthru but you'll have to wait until we see each other for details.

So, since I'm not a regular performer, they gave me a really crappy time slot, which at first I hadn't been too upset about, but then some other dudes who were performers showed up and they rushed them in before me, which I got really upset about. Luckily one of the girls who works at the café saw me trying to uselessly argue with the manager and stuck up for me, I still performed later than I should've, but the audience was really great, which is pretty much the only reason why I want to go back.

Anyway, overall it was quite fun, I got to meet a few awesome local musicians, and I think the atmosphere was quite nice.

See you soon,  
Rainbow

* * *

August 23, 1979

Dearest Nat,  
Hope everything goes well on your first day! I'm sending you all the good vibes. You're so capable and such a great person, I know you'll be a great fucking Auror.

As soon as you're done, I want you to write me with all the deetz.

I've sent along a nice lil good luck charm ;)

All the love and support,  
Rainbow

* * *

August 28, 1979

Dear Bow,  
Things have been so hectic around our place. It wasn't until today that we finished unpacking everything. There's still some stuff we're waiting on wedding presents for though.

I'd almost forgotten what it was like to live with a man, although it's quite different to live with a teenage boy than it was to live with Dad. James is actually quite neat though, more so than I thought. The only thing he really doesn't like doing is laundry.

You have to come visit now that everything's more settled down. We still have planning to do, and you need to help me pick out some decor for the flat.

You better be eating properly, bitch! Because there  _will_  be random drop ins to check.

Love,  
Your sister, Lily

* * *

September 2, 1979

Dear Nat,  
That Mad-Eye sure sounds like a real piece of work, I don't think he has bad intentions though, maybe with time he'll be a little more pleasant, and if he isn't, I'd be happy to have a word with him. I'm glad everything's been going well with your prospective mentor though!

My sister's wedding is in a couple of weeks, it's going to be on September 18, so save the date, since I can't take Reg, you're going to be my date (I would've invited you either way though).

I landed a 2A3Lo combo multiple times today! Let's gooo Olympics!

Love,  
Rainbow

* * *

September 8, 1979

Lillian,  
RWI is going to be on Sep 21 to 23 :( I'll make sure someone takes pictures, it's not a big comp AT ALL, so DO NOT worry about not going, it's fine, I can go without you for once. Besides, it's literally going to be at my rink, and have you seen the entries? It's technically going to be a practice session.

By the way, Nat told me she can go to the wedding, so pencil her in.

Yours,  
Rainbow

* * *

September 13, 1979

Reg,  
My perfect plan has been thought out and is now ready for execution! I've told my sister my competition is on the 28th, a week after it actually is, because if I told her it's on the 21st she'd probably try to delay leaving for her honeymoon so she can see me, but the 28th is halfway through her honeymoon so there's no way she's coming.

So, after Lily's wedding, you'll tell your parents you're going on some very important BG business, and Lily will leave for her honeymoon, and you'll come and stay with me for a couple of weeks and come to my competition and everything will be perfect and amazing.

k bye,  
ur gf

* * *

September 17, 1979

Dear Tuney,  
I know you're not coming, I'm not asking you to come. But please just write to Lily, it doesn't have to be a heartfelt letter, just a quick congratulations, it would mean the world to her. She's still your sister even if you want nothing to do with her, I know you still care for her.

_Still_  love,  
Rainbow

* * *

September 20, 1979

Dear Bow,  
Portugal is absolutely beautiful! I wish you could see all the beautiful sights, I'm taking lots of pictures to show you, though. I know bringing your sister to your honeymoon isn't really a thing, but we haven't been on holiday together in so long, I really do wish you were here, plus, you speak Spanish, which I believe is a lot like Portuguese and you could help us with the translations! James completely forgot the bits he tried to learn when we got here, as you predicted.

I can't believe I'm someone's wife now. It doesn't seem real. It feels very adult, but then again, I've been having to do some serious adulting for the past couple of years now. I'm so glad and so lucky I found James so quickly. The world may be pretty fucked up right now, but at least I have him and I have you.

I love you, and I love my life.

Lily

* * *

September 23, 1979

Dear Nat,  
My competition went great, I skated clean and I won! You've got to stop by the rink one day, and I'll do a special runthru of my programs just for you.

Yes, Regulus is staying at my place currently. I thought everything would go super smoothly with Lily and James so far away but apparently now that they're gone Sirius is in charge of me? I've been telling him I'm with you whenever he asks where I've been. I have had to hide Reg a number of times when Sirius stops by randomly, it's rather funny to be honest.

Love ya,  
Rainbow

* * *

September 25, 1979

Bowie,  
I stopped by but you weren't home. I thought you got off practice at 7pm on Wednesdays, please write when you read this. Anyway, I just wanted to check on you again, and I was going to bring over some food. Tell me when you'll be around.

Sirius

* * *

September 27, 1979

Lily,  
The compulsory and short programs went great! I did better than usual in the compulsory figures, and the audience seemed to really resonate with my short. I'm currently in first place! Here's to a good free!

Once this is over, next stop is Nationals and then (hopefully) the Olympics! (idc about Europeans)

Love,  
Rainbow


	18. Golden Hour

I stepped onto the stage taking a deep breath. The glitter on my face was a little sticky but it made me feel a little more confident.

I smiled at Reg, who was sitting by himself close to the stage, he smiled back as I took my place behind the microphone stand and adjusted my guitar. "This song is dedicated to someone very dear and close to my heart."

I softly started tugging on the strings.

" _All that I know is you caught me at the right time_  
 _Keep me in your glow_  
 _'Cause I'm having such a good time with you_

_Baby, don't you know?_  
 _That you're my golden hour, the color of my sky_  
 _You've set my world on fire_  
 _And I know, I know everything's gonna be alright_ "

I couldn't help but smile lightly as I sang. Regulus was grinning at me from his seat, I could feel myself starting to blush and tried to look away from him.

" _You make the world look beautiful, ooh_  
 _I thought I'd seen it all before_  
 _But looking through your eyes, it looks like paradise_ "

I looked out at the audience, and they all seemed to be enjoying the song, which was very soothing to me.

" _You've set my world on fire_  
 _And I know, I know everything's gonna be alright_  
 _Yeah, I know, I know everything's gonna be alright_  
 _Golden hour_ "

I finished with a smile, as everyone started clapping politely. I set my guitar aside and took a bow.

As I walked to exit the stage I saw Regulus standing there, extending is hand toward me to help me walk down the steps. I gladly grabbed onto his hand. I must've looked like a fool with the gigantic grin on my face. Regulus pulled me into a big hug as my feet touched the concrete floor. I loved his warm squeezes.

He pulled away and I snuck in a firm kiss on his lips, but it was right then that I heard a terrible gasp and a glass smash against the floor. I pulled away from my boyfriend, startled. And over Reg's shoulder I saw something that made my stomach drop.

The source of the startling noise was three very familiar faces. My own sister stood gaping at me in disbelief, her husband standing beside her looking at me as if he didn't know me, and then there was Sirius, who was the one who'd dropped his glass from their table, his expression was a mix of anger and resentment.

About a million thoughts ran through my head. What was Lily thinking? Why was she here, and not in Portugal? Would they all be angry at me? What was I supposed to say to them? I wasn't prepared for this yet.

Before me or Reg could react, Sirius had stomped over to us and pushed his brother away from me. "You get away from her, you little —" Sirius was about to swing at Reg, and I was just standing there frozen.

James held his friend back. "Sirius, stop."

I started feeling like I couldn't breathe, in fact, I might have passed out if James hadn't stopped Sirius.

"Why? He can't just make a pass at her like that!" Sirius argued, trying to break free from James's hold.

Then Lily made her way over to us, and with a cold look on her face she said, "Don't be thick, Sirius. They're obviously together."

I felt like I was about to burst into tears. "Lily, I can explain."

"Get in the car." Lily ordered in a tone that told me she was not to be messed with at the moment.

I glanced at Regulus, who was keeping his emotions well hidden, then put my head down and walked away slowly. Then I heard Lily say, "you too." Was she talking to Reg? My body tensed. What was she going to do?

Reg followed me out with an equally worried expression on his face.

* * *

The five us sat in an uncomfortable silence. I kept looking at my sister, to see if I could figure out what she was thinking by the expression on her face. I couldn't.

The drive to my apartment had been long and silent, Regulus and I didn't dare speak, and Lily and James were probably too angry to make small talk. So, now we sat in the living room, still in silence. I think we were all waiting for Lily to say something.

"I thought you'd be practicing for tomorrow." Lily finally spoke. "Were you with him all day instead of training?"

I took a deep breath. "The competition was last week."

I could almost feel the rage behind Lily's eyes. "And how did you do?"

"I won."

"Good." My sister stood up all of a sudden. "Rainbow, I need to speak to you in private." She declared.

The knot in my stomach tightened. I stood up and followed Lily. Before she stepped out of the room she turned to the boys and said, "play nice.".

Lily and I walked into my kind of messy room and shut the door.

"You should really learn to keep your room in order." Lily couldn't help herself from commenting.

I wasn't in the mood to respond. I sat at the end of my bed, and Lily took the chair from my vanity and sat.

"Are you angry?" I finally asked.

Lily sighed heavily. She shook her head then looked at me. "Yes, but not for the reason you think."

"What's the reason?"

"I don't care if you want to date a Death Eater —"

I opened my mouth to retort but Lily stopped me. "I mean it's certainly a choice, and I would definitely not be okay with it, but what I'm angry about is the fact that you lied to me. Big time."

I looked down. She was right, I'd fucked up.

"You know why I was at that café today?" Lily asked.

I shook my head.

"It was because you told me RWI was this week, and I've never missed one of your competitions. Yesterday I felt so awful I was missing your short program that I convinced James to end our vacation early and come back here in time to surprise you by showing up during your free skate. You lied to me for a boy, I never thought you of all people would do that." Lily's voice sounded bitter.

I bit my lip to stop it from trembling. I hated this feeling.

"Lily, I'm so sorry. I know what I did was wrong, I felt awful about lying to you and to everyone like that, but I genuinely love him so much, and I don't know how I can make you understand." I was barely holding on from bursting into tears.

"Understand that you're in love with a Death Eater?" Lily asked coldly, her brow raised.

"He's not a Death Eater." I immediately defended Reg.

"He has the Dark Mark."

"He doesn't."

"Still doesn't mean he  _isn't_  a Death Eater."

The knot in my throat was turning from sorrow into frustration. This is exactly what I feared would happen. "Lily, it's okay if you can't forgive me for lying yet, but can I please explain to you and the guys what's going on with me and Regulus."

Lily looked at me for a long second, as if trying to figure out if she could still trust me. And let me tell you it feels pretty shitty when your sister looks at you like that.

"Fine." Lily deliberated.

So Lily and I went back to the living room, where luckily the men had not yet killed each other. But their dramatic stare down hadn't slowed down.

And just like that, I sat down with my sister, her husband, Reg, and Reg's brother and I told them everything. I'd been so scared to do it for months, but once I started talking, it all started spouting out. I did most of the talking, about how Regulus didn't really want to be a Death Eater, but he was in too deep when he realised and what we were planning to do about it. Reg had surprised me though, when spoke up to tell some of what he had told me that day in a broom closet months ago, I think today was the most open and honest he had been with someone who wasn't me in a long time.

There was a pregnant pause as Regulus and I finished speaking, and it was James who spoke up first.

"Wait, so let me get this straight." James said with a slightly confused look on his face. "You," he pointed at Reg, "are going to fake your own death with Bow's help and Voldemort has to buy it, then you're going to assume a fake identity and go into hiding for Merlin knows how long."

James looked at us for confirmation. We both nodded.

James chuckled. "You guys do realise that's going to be, like, hard?"

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. "Yes, we do."

All of a sudden, Sirius sat up in his spot next to his friend, he had remained expressionless up until now. He scoffed. "I can't believe you guys think your plan is going to work. This is so... dangerous."

Sirius pushed his hair back in frustration.

"Well, now you know, so, if you want to help, you're welcome to." I said.

"Of course we're going to help you." Sirius sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't try harder before, Reggie."

And that sentence unleashed something between the two Black brothers. The next few minutes included a lot of heart-to-heart conversation, some crying, and a lot more hugging, also a few apologies.

But once Regulus and Sirius got all their shit out of the way, it was then time to start planning Regulus's Great Escape from the Death Eaters.

Honestly, it was a gigantic relief to have Lily, James and Sirius be a part of our whole thing, they had some insight that was very well appreciated. I mean, who knew elder siblings were kind of wise.

By the time we finished talking out everything, the air was much lighter, also quite colder, which caused me to snuggle up to Reg a little bit (causing everyone to give us weird looks).

I could tell Lily was still mad at me, but she'd simmered down by now, especially after listening to Sirius's words to Regulus.

It seemed though, now that we were done with all significant conversation, we didn't quite know what to do, so we just sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"Can we please talk about Sirius's hilarious reactions to you guys at the café now?" James said in a light-hearted tone.

I smiled slightly. "He's the one who spilled everything on the floor, right?"

James almost immediately started giggling. "Right. But the funniest part was how when we realised it was Regulus hugging you, Sirius was like flat out refusing to admit you guys were together together. He just kept saying oh they must be good friends."

I had to admit that was pretty funny. Even Regulus was laughing.

"It could've been a possibility." Sirius defended himself.

"They were literally making out right in front of you, mate!" James cackled.

My sister couldn't hold it in any longer and finally burst out laughing, and I breathed a sigh of relief.


	19. Locket

I sat on the sofa, with my legs pulled up, lying against Lily whilst she held my hands in hers.

We had the telly on (since Lily said it'd be a good distraction), but as hard as I tried I couldn't focus on whatever was going on whichever show we were watching.

I glanced at the ticking clock on the wall for about the hundredth time. It'd been almost two hours since Regulus and Sirius left.

We had everything ready at my place. Five pitchers of water on the kitchen table, Regulus's packed trunk, and the appropriate spells placed on the apartment to keep the bad guys away.

If everything went according to plan, Regulus and Sirius would come back to my place with the help of their house elf Kreacher, almost unharmed, with one of Voldemort's Horcruxes in their possession.  _If_  everything went according to plan. I couldn't fathom the thought of something going wrong. Because if anything did, chances were said thing would go  _terribly_  wrong.

How I wished I could've gone along with them, I knew it wasn't a good idea though, since I couldn't do magic, I'd gone down easy when I was shot down about it.

After the boys came back, Regulus was supposed to go into hiding at a safe house, and let the Death Eaters think he was dead, it would probably work until we found a way to destroy the Horcrux, then Voldemort would probably realise something was up. The whole ordeal was nerve-wracking.

There was a heavy knock on the door.

I sat up so fast, my head hurt. Was it them?

Lily pulled out her wand and raced to the door. I heard her ask the security question, before opening the door fully and letting two figures in.

I was relieved to see both Regulus and Sirius alive, but they were not in a good state. Sirius's face was drained of all colour and he was crying out from the unquenchable thirst he was experiencing, and holding on to his brother for dear life. Reg's face was pale too, he was obviously shaken at seeing his brother in such a state.

Before I could even react, Lily had brought one of the pitchers to Sirius, who had poured it down his face, almost like he was trying to drown himself with it.

Regulus stared at his brother worried, but made his way to my side as soon as he spotted me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on to him tightly.

"Bow, I'm taking Sirius to the hospital to get a serum." Lily said to me quickly.

I nodded absentmindedly as my sister led Sirius out the door.

Reg sat on the sofa, staring at the closed door, as if longing to stay with his brother.

"Is Kreacher alright?" I asked.

Regulus seemed startled by my voice. "Yeah, yeah, he went back to Grimmauld Place, Mother would get suspicious if he was gone for too long."

I nodded. "You want a drink?"

I didn't wait for an answer before going into the kitchen to fill two glasses of water, lord knows we both needed some strength.

I went back into the living room to find Regulus sitting gloomily, his head bowed down.

I set the glasses on the coffee table before sitting next to my boyfriend.

Then, with a small gasp I realised he was staring at a locket in his hand. "Is that...?"

Reg nodded and ran the chain through his hand. "It feels very..."

"I feel it too."

There was a dark aura surrounding the silver locket. It was like a weight coming down on us. It's almost as if it were angry at us.

"This is a piece of  _his_  soul." Regulus stated, still staring at the Horcrux.

"Is this the only one?"

"I don't know for sure. I'd say there's at least one more."

I looped my arm through Reg's, my body pressing against his. "Where are we going to keep it? Until we figure out a way to destroy it?"

"I'm pretty sure my brother's going to want to turn it over to Dumbledore as soon as possible."

"Hm, we'll have to figure that one out." I laid my head on his shoulder, and after a long pause I said, "I had a vision."

Reg's attention seemed to finally drift from the locket. "Involuntarily?"

I nodded. "It happened... when my sister told me she was pregnant."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I saw her and James dying, and their baby was there, but I'm not sure anything will happen to him." I could barely get the words out.

Regulus took my hand. "Have you told them?"

I shook my head. "I don't want to worry them more than what they already do. I will though. I know I have until at least before the baby's born."

"I think you should tell them now, though. At least to get it off your chest, the Olympics are soon, you need your mind to be in the right place."

He was right. "Even if I tell them, I'll still have the fact that my sister might die hanging over my head."

"We have time, though. We can save them."

I bit my lip. "I just, I don't want my sister to die." I choked out as I felt the tears pool in my eyes.

Regulus put his arm around me and pulled me into his chest as I wept. I couldn't stand thinking about Lily dying. My only comfort at the moment was Reg rubbing my back softly and kissing the top of my head.

* * *

The place where Regulus was hiding was a small cabin in a Muggle town in the north of Scotland. The town itself was as inconspicuous as they came, it wasn't small enough so that everyone knew each other, but it wasn't big enough for a wizard to just happen to be there. The place was protected by the Fidelius charm, which I was told made it invisible to anyone who didn't know its location.

I felt bad about Regulus having to stay holed up there for god knows how long, so I tried to make the place as comfortable and nice as possible. It was tastefully decorated, with some nice paintings, and quite a few pictures hanging from the walls. Every soft surface was comfortable, and the kitchen was quite well-equipped (though I knew Reg would probably barely use it).

The niceness of the place also made  _me_  want to spend a lot of time there (I had to admit Reg had something to do with it too), but my sister had advised me not to spend a lot of time there, I wasn't sure though, if it was for the sake of my safety, or because she didn't want me to get pregnant (she didn't have to worry about that yet though).

The first week Reg was there, I was there every day, but now I only stopped by a few times a week. I couldn't really afford being there so much, with the much more intense training I was undergoing at the rink.

My favourite thing about Regulus's place (apart from him), was the fact that I had my own private rink. I mean, it wasn't Olympic sized, but it was something. I'll explain, next to Reg's cabin there was a small lake, that since it was so cold there in winter, would freeze, and I used it to skate sometimes. In fact, I'd prepared my skating bag just in case I wanted to use it today.

I didn't spot Regulus as I stepped out of the chimney, I guessed he was in the bathroom or something, and as I looked out the window to the perfect ice surface I realised Regulus had charmed the ice to get magically Zambonied, and I smiled. He knew me so well. So he'd probably understand why I made a beeline for the lake without waiting for him.

I laced up my boots as fast as I could, and quickly took to the ice. Ugh, it felt so nice to skate on a smooth surface.

I started with some stroking, and I quickly decided to leave jumps aside for the time being, work on my basic skating skills, I started working on some steps and turns when I heard music start playing. But not just any music, Princess Leia's Theme aka, my short program music.

I turned to see Regulus standing at at the edge of the lake, a record player on a blanket in the snow next to him.

I skated over to him.

"You like it?" He asked as I came within earshot.

I smiled. "Yes! How'd you get the record?"

"I asked Sirius to get it for me." He seemed tense at the mention of his brother.

I hugged Regulus. "Thank you."

"Now I want to finally see that short." He requested.

I pulled away from him, with a coy smile. I didn't have the heart to tell him my short program was actually an arrangement of  _two_  pieces from the Star Wars soundtrack. "Okay."

I'd have to improvise a bit, but I could manage.

I took my starting position as Regulus played the music back. Okay, simple. Double Axel, triple Salchow-double Loop, triple Flip. Easy peasy.

I focused on the program.

As I finished – all jumps clean by the way – Regulus had already broken out in applause.

I skated over to him, thinking about how amazing I would feel if in every competition I went over to the boards to see Reg's face.

Regulus stumbled onto the ice and swept me off my feet with a bear hug. "That was amazing! That's the program of an Olympic champion."

I blushed. "Stop!"

"But seriously, that was really great, you carry the program so well."

Wow, look at my boy knowing when a program is carried well, I have taught him well. "Thanks."

Reg looked down. "Actually. I'v been thinking, I want you to teach me to skate."

I gasped, which made Regulus look up, he let out a smile at the grin on my face. I took his face between my hands. "Are you serious?"

"I figured, it's time."

I guffawed. "Uh, it most definitely is. Oh my god, I have to get you skates and blades, ugh I wish you could go with me, but it's fine. This ice is perfect, and we'll have it all to ourselves, it'll be so fun."

I threw my arms around his neck and squeezed him tight. "Since you just gave me a really nice present, I think it's only fair that I give  _you_  a really nice present in return."

Reg frowned. "Okay..."

I grabbed my skate guards from my bag and placed them over my blades.

We both walked into the house. And I headed over to my skate bag.

As Regulus and I sat on the sofa, I took out a small box with a bow on top of it. "I absolutely adore the locket you gave me on our six month anniversary, it makes me feel like I carry a piece of you everywhere I go, and I love that feeling. So, I thought you might enjoy that feeling too. It isn't a locket, because I figured most men aren't into that, so this is the piece of jewelry I was told was the most manly." I handed over the box, which Reg opened gingerly. "I'm not proposing to you, by the way, it's just – y'know,  _that_." I quickly added, feeling a blush creep up my cheek.

Regulus smiled broadly. I'd given him a ring. Well, more like a band, not a  _wedding_  band though. On the inside it was engraved with my name. It'd been slightly awkward getting a ring engraved with my own name, but I figured Reg would like it.

He said nothing, but hastily pulled me into a tight hug. "Thank you," he whispered.

"It's nothing, I just want you to remember that you always have me."


	20. Dark Times Are Upon Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is explained within the chapter, but to be clear, it's been a little over a year since we last saw Bow.

I was the last one out of the locker room. As I usually was. It was nice to have a moment to myself after such an intense competition, I'd told Remus he could come in, but he'd politely declined, since he was a gentleman. At first I'd been slightly annoyed that my sister had sticked me with a babysitter, but I actually quite liked Remus, I'd never talked much to him before, but we were quickly becoming friends on this trip.

I'd done well in the competition, but it was still a bit upsetting that my sister wasn't here. I knew she had a very good reason, but lately I'd just been so upset with her. And believe me, I had pretty good reasons for it. For starters, I had not seen her in four months. You heard me right, four whole months. I knew she had to go into hiding, I mean I'd had a vision of her dying, I was glad she was keeping safe, but it had been too late when I realised keeping Lily safe meant I couldn't see her or my nephew too often.

Lily had gone into hiding after Harry had been born, and I'd only seen her a handful of times after that. She wrote more or less often. She'd actually begged me not to attend this competition, she was afraid the Death Eaters knew about me and would try something. But I'd given up so many competitions already in the previous year, and last year I did not do my best at Worlds, so I felt like I had some unfinished business, that's why I had to come. Besides, Worlds was the only competition I was attending this season, I didn't even go to Nationals.

I shook my head, I shouldn't have to justify myself, I'm a figure skater, I go to competitions, that's how it works. As I finished packing away my stuff, I heard a commotion going on outside. What the hell was going on now?

With a bang, the door to the locker room flew open, revealing a young woman dressed in all black with a crazed grin on her face, holding a wand in her hand. Ooooh no.

"Care to play a little more?" The witch taunted.

Uh, you don't play figure skating, dumbass wizards.

I forgot how to breathe as the witch started muttering a spell, raising her wand towards me. What the hell was I supposed to do now?

As a flash of light started to come out of the tip of her wand, she was pushed aside by someone and right before I would be hit with the spell, Remus shouted 'Protego!', and the spell from the witch bounced off me. Oh thank god.

Remus quickly ran to my side, and shielded me with his own body. The witch threw another spell, which Remus quickly deflected. But our problems got a whole lot worse when two more wizards appeared besides the witch, wands at the ready. How was Remus supposed to defeat three wizards by himself, while protecting me?

I felt unbelievably helpless as I cowered behind Remus, watching the magic people shouting spells at each other. I screamed as a flash of red light hit me from the side, and I fell to the floor. I felt as if I was being stabbed over and over again, I looked down to see my jumper smeared with blood.

Remus's face paled as he realised I was bleeding profusely, and he almost lost control of the situation. But as he shouted one last stronger spell which caused the Death Eaters to lose their footing, he took my arm and we Disapparated.

* * *

Looking at the bright side of this whole situation, I would say I was glad to see my sister and her family again after four months. But that was pretty much the entire bright side.

I was currently sitting on the very busy kitchen of the Bones family. Lily sat beside me, holding my hand. The dishes on the sink were washing themselves, I guessed as a way to keep me from hearing what was going on in the living room, and it was kind of working, I could only hear some hushed voices coming from the other room. They were discussing what to do with me. Which was a weird feeling, knowing I was being talked about in the other room, by a bunch of people I didn't even know.

Lily had refused to leave my side since we came back yesterday. I'd heard Remus calling her from the payphone in the wizard hospital (which they had for some reason). Lily wanted me back in England right away, but Remus had told her it was probably better if we made sure I was okay before going home. He'd Apparated us to the American version of St Mungos, which was somewhere in Massachusetts as I understood. They'd been quite confused as to what curse had caused my injuries, but they managed to patch me up pretty well. I was still taking some sort of potion for pain though. They'd kept me overnight, but we'd left first thing the next morning. Lily had hugged me like I'd come back from the dead. Well, at least she'd tried, my injuries were still a little fresh for that. I'd ended up with five long vertical scars, they ran all the way across my torso, from underboob to waist, all parallel to each other. It was pretty horrid to look at if I'm being honest.

Lily and James had quickly come to the conclusion that I could not be left to my own devices at my flat anymore. The Death Eaters were after me, for some reason. So, they'd called up the Order of the Phoenix (the name was a bit pretentious if you asked me), and they set up an emergency meeting to try to figure out why I'd been attacked, how the Death Eaters found out where I'd be (like it wasn't a known fact that I'd be at the Figure Skating World Championships on those dates, they could've literally read it on the paper), and what to do with me now.

"Have you told Reg? About what happened?"

Lily turned to me, I think she was trying to listen in to what was going on. She took a moment to process the question. "Oh, Sirius is with him right now. We can go visit tomorrow."

Did she just say  _we_?

I nodded. "I should probably talk to Bobby and Camille soon too." They were my coaches. "Remus said they were pretty worried and confused when he told them we were leaving, and I'm probably not going back to training anytime soon."

Lily nodded slowly, she still seemed like her mind was far off.

The door to the kitchen opened.

A tall, handsome dude who seemed a few years older than me walked in. "You guys can come in."

Lily stood up fast and followed the man.

Everyone in the living room seemed to be staring at me. I felt like I was being put on trial.

"Ah, Lily, Rainbow, so nice of you to join us." Dumbledore quickly spoke up. It was a bit relieving to see him.

I saw a few confused looks amongst the members of the Order. They'd probably been referring to me as Daisy the whole time.

There were about sixteen people in the room. Varying in ages from about eighteen to seventy. I could only recognise James, Remus, Dumbledore, and the nice couple whose house we were in.

"Rainbow, I would like to introduce you to a few people, as you might be seeing a lot of them in the future." Dumbledore said.

I nodded absentmindedly and followed the wizard to a couple sitting on a loveseat, Lily trailed behind me.

The blonde woman and the tall man she sat with ceased their conversation and stood up as they saw us approach.

"Miss Evans, these are Alice and Frank Longbottom. Alice, Frank, this is Daisy Evans." Dumbledore made introductions.

Alice offered me a kind smile. I shook both their hands.

"So nice to finally meet you." Alice said.

We exchanged a few more pleasantries before Dumbledore led us to the next one.

It was the guy who had gone to fetch us in the kitchen earlier, and his carbon copy was standing right beside him. So, twins. Noice.

"These are Fabian and Gideon Prewett." Dumbledore pointed at the general direction of both men, he probably couldn't tell them apart.

I mean, I honestly had no idea which one was the one I'd seen before.

I went to shake their hands. "Nice to – "

I shut up as a vision came over me.

_A group of wizards led by an ugly, sneering man tore through a house, turning furniture upside down, breaking things left and right. They made their way into a living area, where they cornered the set of twins, both of whom had determined looks on their faces._

_The twins launched a few spells at their attackers but they had no chance, they were outnumbered. One of the dark wizards cackled as he cast a spell that produced a chilling green light, and before anything could be done, the twins were dead._

Everyone was staring at me in confusion as I came back to it.

I turned to Dumbledore. "Professor, may I speak to you in private?"

The professor led me into the kitchen. I took a deep breath before saying, "The twins are going to die, they're going to be killed by Death Eaters, and you need to warn them."

Dumbledore's reaction was not the one I was expecting. He smiled forlornly. "Miss Evans, Fabian and Gideon Prewett are known members of the Order of the Phoenix. Although I appreciate your concern, and I'm sure they do too, they know that they are targets of the Death Eaters, and they joined this organisation knowing quite well the risk it would mean for their lives. I  _will_  warn them to be careful, but there's not much we can do about the threat Death Eaters impose on the lives of everyone in the Order."

I leaned against the kitchen table as Dumbledore walked out of the door.

He was right. I knew he was. But there was something incredibly morbid about knowing someone's going to die, and not being able to do anything about it.

* * *

"We can put your stuff in the guest room." Lily instructed.

I was staying at their place for the next few weeks. I still hadn't decided how I felt about it. On one hand, I was happy to spend time with my sister and nephew, but on the other hand, I was going to have to give up my sense of freedom, and I had no idea when I would be able to skate again.

I couldn't even go to my flat to get my things, since Lily had been feeling quite protective of me lately. She definitely knew it was annoying me though. I could tell she was fuming on the inside when she saw me lying on the sofa playing with Harry instead of helping James take my things upstairs.

I'd never been big on babies, but I had to admit Harry was a pretty cute baby, and a very chill one (thank god). It made zero sense that someone wanted to actually murder him, it made me sick to my stomach to think about. But at least I hadn't had to be the one to tell Lily and James that Voldemort was trying to kill their child, because apparently some other Seer bitch had made a whole prophecy about it.

I was still pretty worried about the Potters though. Lily had assured me time and time again that they were doing absolutely everything they could to keep safe. And I'd started to realise that what Dumbledore had told me made a lot of sense. I couldn't really do anything to save Lily and James per se, I'd have to fucking defeat Voldemort to be sure they'd be safe, and I'd heard that was pretty hard. There were also a whole bunch of wizards already trying to do just that. So, I'd decided to trust my sister to know what was the best to keep her family safe.

It was fucked up. How my sister and I nowadays were playing a game of who was worried more over the other's life. This wasn't what having a sister was supposed to be like.

I heard a small crash from upstairs. Oh fuck, had they dropped what I thought they dropped?

"RAINBOW!" Lily yelled from the staircase. "WHY DO YOU KEEP YOUR MEDALS IN A  _SHOEBOX_?"

I looked at Harry with a bemused smile. Now that was more like it.

I put Harry back in his high chair as not to yell in his ear. "IT'S A  _NICE_  SHOEBOX!"

"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A NICE SHOEBOX!"

"LILLIAN YOU LEAVE THAT SHOEBOX ALONE!" I ran up the stairs in a hurry.

* * *

Reg's fingers ran gently over the long scars on my torso, his touch giving my whole body chills, which I tried to dissimulate.

We were laying down on his bed, his head on the crook of my arm, my shirt pulled up, exposing my scarred torso.

"I'm sorry." Reg whispered as his fingers paused over my abdomen.

I frowned. "For what?"

"I should've done something."

Oh. He was talking about the scars. I rolled my eyes a little bit. "It's literally zero percent your fault."

He shook his head. "I should have been there with you, I should've been able to – "

"What? See the future? Even I didn't see it coming."

Reg sighed heavily. "I hate that this happened. I hate that I can't take care of you, that I can't protect you."

Shit, he sounded like he was about to cry. Was it really that deep, bruh?

I looped my arm around his shoulders. "It's okay, you don't need to be physically be there all the time to protect me, you do it in other ways. I mean, I would be all tough and say I don't need protection, but who am I kidding? If someone throws a curse at me, what am I going to do? Deflect it with a crystal ball?"

That got a small chuckle out of Regulus. "I swear, when we find out who those Death Eaters were..."

He sounded upset. Well, he probably was, according to Sirius, he'd gone ballistic when he found out what happened, tried to Apparate to my side, but Sirius had physical restrained him.

"Oh I'm not upset with them, really." I tried to appease the boy. "Honestly, as long as they don't damage my feet, or anything essential for skating, I'm good."

Regulus sighed. "The rest of your body is important too."

"Alright, I guess my back's kind of important too, for spins and shit."

Reg made a noise at the back of his throat. "Mm, nope. Every part is important."

"Says who?"

"The skating gods told me."

I fake laughed. "Uh, if they really talked to you, they would've said what they've told me numerous times. 'Rainbow Evans, your feet should be  _worshipped_.'"

I raised my foot up in the air laughing.


	21. Happy & Sad

The day was too nice.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky, birds chirping, and a gentle breeze blew to counteract the sun's rays. It was too nice for a funeral. Knowing that this would be the kind of day Nat would love was bittersweet.

I hadn't gone up to see the casket yet. I was so scared to see her body. It would make this whole situation a thousand times more real, besides I felt like I would break down if I saw it.

They weren't sure who killed her. She'd gone out to the field with her Auror mentor, and they had been ambushed by Death Eaters, both had died. Dumbledore had told Lily first, so she'd break it to me. He probably thought I'd break down when he told me, I mean, he was right, but I was still upset with him.

I'd met Nat's parents. Huh, what a way to finally meet them. Her mum had been especially distraught. I knew Nat had left some unfinished business with her mum, she'd been upset about Nat's career path. I felt bad for the woman.

Lily had come with me to the wake, and I was thankful for that, but she didn't know Nat, she couldn't do all that much to comfort me.

The door opening behind me snapped me out of my train of thought. I turned around to see Tessa, her eyes gleaming with tears, a distraught look on her face.

I heard her breath catch softly when she saw me. We stared at each other for a few seconds before Tessa took a few steps forward and slowly wrapped her arms around me.

We held on to each other tightly as a few tears escaped my eyes.

She pulled away. "Bow, I'm so sorry. I've been such a shit friend."

She had. We'd only spoken a handful of times after I left Hogwarts, and she still hadn't forgiven me for lying about the whole Muggle thing. But I wasn't going to throw that in her face now.

"It's okay. I'm glad you're here now." I assured her.

Tessa's eyes darkened as she spotted something behind me. I was pretty sure it was the casket.

She looked at me. "Have you – ?"

I shook my head quickly. "I haven't gathered the guts." I knew I had to do it though.

Tessa took a deep breath and held out her hand. I stared at it for a brief second, it was now or, well, probably later, but I had to get it over with at some point.

I took Tessa's hand, and we walked down the aisle of chairs to the open casket. My footsteps felt heavy, and I started to slow down as we neared it.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward at the same time as Tessa.

Nat looked like she was sleeping. If I didn't already know that Nat was not a graceful sleeper, I'd probably believe she was, in fact, just asleep. But she was dead. Because some psycho had decided she didn't deserve to live. My beautiful, joyful, silly, determined, brave, loving friend was gone.

The tears had started overflowing and the knot in my throat tightened. Tessa held my hand as if it was a lifeline.

I took in Nat's lifeless, peaceful body for a few more seconds, before reaching in and stroking a bit of her hair.

I took a deep breath and one last look at her face.  _So long, baby._

* * *

"Rainbow, I've arranged the food in the fridge, remember it all just need to be heated and it's ready to eat. Please try to eat all your meals at appropriate times, Regulus already promised me he'd try his best to nurture healthy eating habits around here." Lily ranted.

I made a brief noise of agreement from my position on the sofa. It was rather funny how my sister still treated me like I hadn't ever lived by myself before.

I should explain. Reg and I were moving in together. And when I say moving in together, I meant I was going into hiding at the same safe house as him, but that sounded less romantic.

After much deliberation (not by me, of course, since apparently I couldn't be trusted to make my own decisions), it had been decided that it wasn't a good idea for me to stay with Lily and I would be allowed to stay with Regulus instead. Lily had been a little hesitant about letting me move in with my boyfriend, but she'd been nicely reminded that I was an adult, and she was not the boss of me.

I felt a little bad about not helping the boys more in moving my stuff, but I still felt a little rough about Nat's demise, it'd only been a couple of weeks after all. I still tried hard not to think about her, which I felt kind of bad about, but if I thought of her my emotions would get the better of me.

I'd also been really pensive lately. It was partly because of Nat, but also because of my sister. She was set to go deeper into hiding, she was moving to a different house with more protection but I still felt like it wasn't enough.

Lily finally realised I wasn't listening to her instructions about food or whatever and came around the sofa to sit beside me. She leaned her head on my shoulder and took my hand in hers. "What's on your mind?"

I hummed. Well, a lot. "I just, really  _need_  you to be safe."

"Oh, Bow. We already talked about this. James, Harry and I are the most well protected family in all of Britain, you don't have to worry." She assured me.

My gaze stayed straight ahead, if I looked at Lily I would not be able to tell her this. "I'm so nervous."

"I'll brew you a calming drought." Lily rubbed my arm in a calming manner. "I know this situation is complicated, and the harsh reality is that we're all in danger, and I know sometimes you feel a little helpless because you can't do magic, but rest assured that we're all doing our very best to keep everyone safe. And in the meantime, why don't we just relish in the fact that you just moved in with your boyfriend."

Lily shook me by the arm excitedly. I knew she was only saying this to make me feel better, because she hadn't been too happy about this whole situation in the first place. But it made me happy that she at least pretended to be excited for me. And just like that, my sister hot not only the first smile in days out of me, but she also got a goddamned  _giggle_.

* * *

The first week I spent cohabiting the same space as Regulus was pure bliss. We loved being able to see each other all the time, and Lily's rule of each of us sleeping in separate bedrooms (as if she hadn't actually gotten  _married_  at the same age I was now) went out the window the first night.

It was during the second week that things started getting a little more down to earth, and we had to start dealing with some actual issues.

Oh, how to explain. After two years of relationship, I  _knew_  Regulus was a neat freak, but I truly didn't understand the extent of it until I actually lived in the same household as him. I, personally, wouldn't say I was too messy, I just I wasn't much for tidying up, but compared to Regulus I felt like a complete slob.

Don't get me wrong, I understood the appeal of having a clean, orderly house, but  _god_  at what cost.

I was grateful though, to have clean dishes so I could serve a cup of tea to my somewhat unexpected guest, Fabian Prewett.

I set down the two cups of tea on the coffee table as I heard a small explosion coming from down in the basement, god knows what complicated potion Regulus was working on at the moment.

Fabian had pulled out a quill and parchment while I was gone. "So, what are we going for? Brief and to the point? Emotional and long?"

Fabian was helping me write my retirement statement. I was set to announce my retirement from competitive figure skating this week. I'd been struggling with what to say, so I'd asked the Order to lend me their most eloquent writer, and I'd ended up with this.

"Mm, a mix of both, if possible." I requested.

Fabian sighed. "Alright, what do you got?"

"I got nothing, that's why I asked for help."

"How about we start with, what this sport means to you."

I took a deep breath. Oh boy, could he have asked a more loaded question. "I think that figure skating is the perfect mix between art and athleticism. For years it has been a medium for me through which to express my deepest feelings, while also challenging me physically. Skating is the only time I feel completely safe and comfortable and free.

'It seems weird, when you think about it, I'm talking about attaching blades to my feet and carving figures on ice, that's what it comes down to. But there's a certain feeling when you're on skates, you feel like you're so light, almost like you're floating, and when you're up high in the air, you feel like your troubles are gone. But there's also a certain instability to it, you have to find your balance, through strength and patience, which makes it all the more rewarding.

'I guess what I'm trying to say is, skating is the best thing I've ever done, and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to share my passion with the world, and I hope to continue to do that outside of competition."

Fabian, who had been quickly scribbling down on his parchment, briefly looked up, a thoughtful look on his face. "What about what you've contributed to the sport?"

"Um, I think that it's enough for me if I inspired one person to try skating. I hope to have contributed to the sport, and helped it move forward and grow as much as it has helped  _me_  grow. I hope the skating community grows in the next few years and I shall continue to do my part to see that through."

Fabian wrote for a few more seconds after I stopped talking, then handed over the parchment. "What do you think?"

I carefully read over the long-ish paragraph Fabian had summarised my ramblings into. It was perfect. He had put what I said in far less messy wording. Huh maybe they do teach something useful at Hogwarts.

"It's great, thank you!" I said with a smile.

"Do you mind if I ask why are you retiring so young? Is that common practice?" Fabian asked.

I shrugged. "It's fairly common. Since you can't actually get paid for skating until you retire, and at some point you gotta start making money out of it, most people retire young. I actually planned on competing a few more seasons, but with the whole being in hiding thing, that doesn't seem like it's going to happen, so I'd just rather go straight into doing ice shows once this is over, start earning some money."

Fabian nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense." He picked up his quill and parchment. "Anyway, next time you need a scribe, keep in mind that that's not exactly the purpose of the Order of the Phoenix."

I feigned shock. "What? I thought the Order's sole purpose was to help me with my redaction needs!"

Fabian chuckled. "It's a common misconception."

I smirked. "Nice to have cleared that up then."

* * *

I heard the sound of my blade badly scratching the ice as I fell down. Fuck. I felt a searing pain on my hand and realised I'd cut my palm open with my blade.

I heard the door to the house being thrown open and looked up to see Reg running through the light layer of snow to my side.

"Bow! Are you alright?" He yelled out as he hastily pulled his wand out of his robes.

He must've seen me falling through the window of the house.

I got up slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Regulus frowned as he reached me. "You slashed your hand open!"

I looked down at my bleeding hand. Yeah, it was kind of bad. "Not the first time this happens."

"What happened?" Regulus asked as he took my hand in his delicately and started muttering an incantation.

I sighed. "I was doing an I-spiral and I stupidly put my whole hand over my blade but then my edge caught and I fell in such a way that I cut myself."

I watched as the cut on my hand slowly closed into a small scar. That was cool.

Regulus shook his head. "Why weren't you wearing gloves?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, it wasn't that cold."

As Regulus let go of my hand, I realised he had dropped something on the ice when he'd been desperately trying to pull his wand out of his robes. "Hey, you dropped something, babe."

Regulus looked down and his face dropped.

I frowned. He'd dropped a tiny velvet black box. Oh fuck – was that – ?

He quickly picked up the box, and as he watched my shocked face, he said, "Rainbow, please, I need you to turn around for a second."

I did as he said. Was this what I thought it was? I heard Regulus shuffle around a little bit before he told me to turn back around.

I stifled a gasp as I saw Regulus bent down on one knee, the tiny black box in his hand. He had a look on his face that made me weak in the knees.

"Rainbow Evans."

I could feel my eyes swell up with tears. Aw fuck, I was not going to make it through this.

"You are the love of my life. I've always known this, but the past few months have made me realise even more that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I've loved you from the moment that I saw you. You make me a better person, and I could never thank you enough for that. I need you to know that you're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. If you weren't here, I've no idea what my life would be, and I don't want to find out. So, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

Regulus opened the box to reveal a beautiful ring. I could not control the tears that were rapidly falling down my face. I immediately nodded enthusiastically and threw myself into Reg's arms, causing us both to fall onto the ice.

"I love you so much." I said as I kissed all over Reg's face, leaving the grin on his lips for last.

I was going to be someone's  _wife_. Can you  _believe_?


	22. Destroy

The silver locket with the sparkling green 'S' seemed to stare back at me. I hated that Voldemort had used it for himself, such a historic artifact of Salazar Slytherin.

"You don't have to be here for it." Regulus took my hand in his gently.

"No, I want to be here, in case something happens."

We were destroying it today. That damned thing that had been plaguing our home for months. Regulus had finally found a way. I could tell from the moment he refused to hand it in to Dumbledore that this was personal. Regulus had to deal with it himself, and he finally was.

Regulus grabbed one of the Basilisk fangs he had somehow gotten a hold of.

I touched his arm. "Are you sure this is safe?"

Regulus nodded curtly. "You should probably step back a little."

I took a few steps back from the kitchen table, where the locket was laying.

Regulus held the fang tightly and without hesitation dove into the locket, but right before the tip could touch the silver surface, something seemed to stop him.

All of a sudden, the room filled with dark smoke that seemed to be emanating from the Horcrux. I could hear a voice hissing loudly but I couldn't quite make out what it was saying.

Reg seemed to be frozen to the spot as a figure started forming within the smoke. It took me a few seconds to realise that it was an exact replica of myself, only Other Rainbow's eyes had a devilish gleam to them. I tensed.

Other Rainbow opened her mouth. " _Did you really think I would want to be with someone like you?_ "

Gosh, is that really what I sound like?

Regulus seemed transfixed by Evil Rainbow. She kept talking, " _Why be with a Death Eater, when I can be with one of the most important members of the Order of the Phoenix? After all, he's so much better than you in every way_."

Another figure appeared next to Evil Rainbow. " _Hello, little brother_." Evil Sirius said.

Then, without preamble, Evil Sirius turned to Evil Me, and started making out with her so intensely, it was almost disgusting.

I threw up in my mouth a little.

Regulus looked as if he'd been punched in the gut.

"REG! REG, IT'S NOT REAL PLEASE LOOK AT ME!" I desperately tried to get his attention, but he seemed transfixed by the scene before him. "REG, YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU, YOU HAVE TO DESTROY IT!"

I looked at the Evil Sirius and Rainbow and tried to think of a way to stop them. Could I hit them over the head with something?

Then all of a sudden, the figures disappeared and the smoke returned to the locket with a big whoosh. The locket had a smoking hole through it.

Reg let himself fall on the floor, the Basilisk fang clattering down next to him. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, which I guess in a way, he had.

I crouched down to the floor next to him and hugged him so tight I might have cut his circulation a little, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He nodded slowly. "I'm just glad that you're here, that you're real."

* * *

I taped up the last box of bedroom stuff and put it next to the others. I exhaled loudly, I felt like I'd been packing forever.

Regulus and I were moving. After destroying the Horcrux, Regulus figured Voldemort had realised that he was still alive, and would probably be very upset. So, we were activating our maximum security plan. We were going to a safe house in Ireland, which would be protected under the Fidelius charm.

I looked at the packed boxes with a small sigh. This house had been good to us. And the lake outside would be sorely missed.

A box marked 'stuff' caught my attention. I don't remember packing that box. It must've been packed by Lily yesterday when she came to help out.

I opened it slowly to reveal, as the label said, stuff, in-between which there was a crystal ball, a set of Tarot cards, and some Divination books.

I'd actually been looking for this stuff.

I took out the crystal ball, sat down and set it in front of me on the floor.

As much as I was scared to do this, I knew I had to try again. I needed a vision that could help my sister.

I tentatively ran my fingers through the clear crystal ball. I hadn't done this in so long, I had no idea if it would work.

It was hard. There wasn't a vision coming easily. I tried to focus on Lily and James. A few images flashed through my head. Lily screaming, Harry crying inconsolably.

All of a sudden, a thousand more images flashed through my brain so fast I couldn't keep up. I collapsed onto the ground. I felt my body shaking uncontrollably and a tightness in my chest before everything went black.

* * *

"... Inner Eye shut for so long, it was going to react like this especially if she tried so hard to have a vision. It overwhelmed her with all the visions she's been pushing back so hard. If she wants her Inner Eye to be active again, she's going to have to go slowly about it."

Was that who I thought it was?

I opened my eyes just a slit to realise I was lying on the sofa of our almost empty living room. I could see a head of red hair standing next to the kitchen table talking to someone. Was that Lily?

I then realised I had a blanket draped over me. I opened my eyes fully. It was dark outside. How long had I been out?

"Rainbow! You're awake." It  _was_  Lily. She leaned down to inspect me (I guess), "how are you feeling?"

"Alright. What happened?" I asked as I sat up on the sofa.

Professor Vablatsky came into the room. "You tried to have a vision. After having your Inner Eye tightly shut for over a year."

"And I gather that wasn't a good idea."

Professor Vablatsky gave me a soft look. "You know it wasn't."

"I called the professor after Reg found you passed out next to your divination stuff." Lily explained my unvoiced question.

I nodded. "Where is he, anyway?"

"He was really freaked out after he, you know, found you having a seizure, so James took him for a walk."

Oh.

Lily looked out the window. "Actually, I should probably go get them now."

I nodded and Lily went out the door, leaving me alone with the professor.

She sat next to me. "Rainbow, if you want to open your Inner Eye again, it can be done, but we need to ease into it. It could take months."

I swallowed hard. "But that's just it, Professor. I don't think I have months."

* * *

I held onto Fabian's arm nervously as he led me through the dark and cold place that had become Diagon Alley.

I remember I used to love coming to the Alley with Lily every year, it was always such a fun and lively place. But now, half the storefronts were closed, and people walked around quickly, with their heads bowed, and hands inside their robes, ready to draw their wands at the slightest hint of danger.

I'd come because Reg and I needed to get some things before moving, and at this point it was safer for me to go out than Reg. Lily had tasked Fabian with accompanying me, and honestly I did not mind at all. I felt a lot safer having a powerful member of the Order with me.

"Rainbow, these okay?" Fabian asked me.

We were at the apothecary, he was holding two vials of some substance in his hands.

I guffawed. "I... you know I don't know."

Fabian smiled cheekily and dropped the vials into my basket.

We picked up few more potions supplies before heading to the register. There was a brown haired girl paying for some things in front of us, she looked familiar.

It wasn't until the girl turned around that I realised it was Tessa. Our faces of surprise mirrored one another. I hadn't seen Tessa since Nat's funeral, where I thought we'd reconnected.

Tessa's face of surprise morphed into a soft smile. "Rainbow! Hello, how are you?"

"Hey, I'm alright. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Tessa's smile faltered. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I haven't been the best at keeping up, but a lot of things have happened since..."

I nodded quickly. "Oh, it's okay, don't worry about it."

Tessa pursed her lips. "I feel bad. How about we go get a drink? You busy right now?" She looked over to Fabian, a bit confused.

I sighed. "I guess not. Sure, let's get a drink."

So we each paid for our things and headed out the store together.

Since most places in the Alley were closed, we settled for going to the Leaky Cauldron. I could tell this was all a little awkward for Fabian, but honestly, I didn't care all that much.

I sipped on my Butterbeer. "So, you were in Spain, right?"

Tessa nodded. "Yes, I had an internship at the ministry there, but just this summer I was promoted and now I work for the Magical Law department."

I then remembered something. "Te importa si hablamos español, poquito? Hace mucho que no practico."  _Do you mind if we talk in Spanish a little bit? It's been a while since I practiced._

Tessa smiled. "Por mi mejor."  _Better for me._

Fabian looked very confused as to what was happening. I should've given him a heads up.

"Me da mucho gusto que te este yendo tan bien en tu trabajo."  _I'm very glad you're doing so well at your job._

"Gracias. La verdad a veces me pregunto si debería regresar a Inglaterra, por todo lo que está pasando."  _Thank you. Honestly sometimes I wonder if I should come back to England, due to everything that's happening._

I nodded slowly. "No te sientas culpable por eso, es mejor que te mantengas segura donde estás. De todas maneras, qué haces aquí?"  _Don't feel guilty about that, it's better that you keep safe where you are. Either way, what are you doing here at the moment?_

Tessa smiled forlornly. "Estoy visitando a los padres de Natalliya. Lo han estado pasando muy duro."  _I'm visiting Natalliya's parents. They've been having a rough time._

I nodded with a slight blush to my cheeks. I hadn't even thought about visiting Nat's parents, and Tessa had come all the way from Spain to do just that. I'd also forgotten that Tessa had been friends with Nat for much longer than me, so Nat's death had probably hit her harder. "Claro. Que bueno de tu parte."  _Of course. That's very nice of you._

Tessa gave me a mournful look. "Natalliya me contó de lo de Regulus, antes de que falleciera. Lo siento mucho."  _Natalliya told me about Regulus, before she passed away. I'm really sorry._

I frowned for a millisecond before I remember the world thought Regulus was dead. I mean, I wouldn't mind telling her he wasn't, but it wasn't a good idea to do so so out in the open. I tried to look sad and serious. "Gracias."  _Thanks_.

Tessa smiled briefly. "Y él es tu nuevo novio?"  _Is he your new boyfriend?_

I smirked. One of the many joys about being bilingual, Tessa and I had discovered long ago, was talking about people right in front of them without them realising.

Now, what I said next was because I realised it'd be pretty hard to explain what I was doing with Fabian here without talking about the Order. "Si."  _Yes_.

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "Pues, te agarraste a uno guapo eh."  _Well, you got a handsome one, huh?_

I giggled. This was way funny. "Si, ya se. Y qué onda contigo? Tú y Frank no pegaron?"  _Yes I know. What's up with you? Did you and Frank ever hit it off?_

Tessa rolled her eyes a little. "No, ando soltera todavía."  _No, I'm still single._

I nodded.

Tessa suddenly reached across the table and took my hand. "Iris." She called me that when we spoke in Spanish. "Quiero pedirte una disculpa, por haber estado tan ciega. No fue tu culpa lo que pasó, y ahora entiendo porqué no podías decirnos nada. Espero que lo halles en tu corazón perdonarme. Prometo ser una mejor amiga de ahora en adelante."  _I want to offer you an apology, for being so blind. What happened wasn't your fault, and now I understand why you couldn't tell us anything. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me. I promise to be a better friend from now on._

Thank god she had the good sense not to mention my secrets (of the Muggle and Seer kind) out loud, even if we weren't speaking English.

I squeezed her hand. "Está bien, Tessa. Estoy feliz de que ahora podamos volver a ser amigas."  _It's alright, Tessa. I'm glad we can be friends again now._ I said softly.

Tessa gave me the softest smile. "Qué feliz me hace escuchar eso."  _I'm so happy to hear that._

Tessa and I engaged in some more lighthearted conversation, and eventually switched to English so we could include Fabian a little in the conversation.

Eventually Fabian and I said goodbye to Tessa and headed back to my place.

"I have a question." Fabian said as we walked out of the Leaky Cauldron.

"What?"

"Did you and Tessa ever date? Because at one point back there you guys were holding hands giving each other some pretty intense looks. And I've no idea what you were saying, but those whispers sounded pretty sultry to me." He could barely contain his smirk.

Did he really think he could shake me with that? Cute. I sighed. "Ugh, I wish. But sadly, she's straight as they come."

We Apparated to the house.

Fabian was about to open his mouth when he frowned as he looked at the house.

Something was wrong.

I followed Fabian's gaze upward only to find the Dark Mark splashed across the sky right above the house. My stomach dropped.

"Stay here." Fabian said as he quickly took out his wand and silently walked into the house.

I stood hiding behind some bushes coming up with the worst case scenarios. I could feel tears spilling from my eyes fast. And it didn't help that Fabian was taking so long. How the hell had they managed to find the house? And get past all the defences.

I couldn't deal with it anymore. I slowly walked up to the front door, placed my hand over the door handle and pushed.


End file.
